Joshu’s Mu
E940297
Joshu’s Mu is a famous Zen koan centered on the Chinese master Zhaozhou’s (Joshu’s) enigmatic response “Mu” to a monk’s question about whether a dog has Buddha-nature, used to provoke insight beyond rational thought.
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Buddhist teaching story
ⓘ
Zen koan ⓘ |
| aimsAtRealizationOf |
Buddha-nature
ⓘ
non-duality ⓘ |
| appearsAsCaseNumber | Case 1 of the Mumonkan ⓘ |
| appearsIn |
Mumonkan
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
The Gateless Gate NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedMaster |
Joshu Jushin
GENERATED
ⓘ
Zhaozhou Congshen GENERATED ⓘ |
| associatedSchool | Zhaozhou school of Chan NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedTradition |
Chan Buddhism
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Zen Buddhism NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| canonicalAnswer | Mu ⓘ |
| centralWord | Mu ⓘ |
| commentedOnBy |
D. T. Suzuki
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Hakuin Ekaku NERFINISHED ⓘ Koun Yamada NERFINISHED ⓘ Wumen Huikai NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| coreQuestion | Does a dog have Buddha-nature? ⓘ |
| hasAlternativeName |
Joshu’s Dog Koan
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
The Dog Koan NERFINISHED ⓘ Zhaozhou’s Mu NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasLanguage | Classical Chinese ⓘ |
| historicalPeriod | Tang dynasty China NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| influenced | modern Zen practice in the West ⓘ |
| keyTheme |
Buddha-nature of all beings
ⓘ
direct experience over doctrine ⓘ transcending yes-and-no thinking ⓘ |
| meaningOfMu |
No
ⓘ
Not ⓘ Un-ask the question ⓘ |
| pedagogicalRole |
gateway to koan curriculum
ⓘ
initial koan for students ⓘ |
| philosophicalFunction |
to cut off dualistic thinking
ⓘ
to provoke direct insight ⓘ to undermine conceptual understanding ⓘ |
| practiceMethod |
concentrating on the word Mu
ⓘ
raising great doubt through Mu ⓘ |
| regionOfOrigin | China NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
Buddha-nature
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
emptiness (śūnyatā) ⓘ great doubt ⓘ non-conceptual wisdom ⓘ |
| studiedBy |
Buddhist scholars
ⓘ
Zen practitioners ⓘ philosophers of religion ⓘ |
| transmittedTo | Japan NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| usedFor |
Zen meditation practice
ⓘ
koan introspection ⓘ kōan study in Rinzai Zen ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.