AN INVESTIGATION OF GONG-ANS

IN CONSTRUCTION

I shall add koans when I have time. I will begin with this one.

The term usually refers to the particular question itself as well as the state of mind to be cultivated through concentrating upon the question. 

A koan -literally, " a public case"- is a description of an entire situation, usually of a dialogue between a Zen master and his disciple; but the central point of the exchange can then be singled out as a topic for meditation."

(Batchelor 1985: 53)

Case 1

Jõshû's "Mu"    一 趙州狗子

趙州和尚、因僧問、狗子還有佛性也無。州云、無。

A monk asked Jõshû, "Has a dog the Buddha Nature?" Jõshû answered, "Mu."

Case 1

This gong-an is normally called Jõshû's "Mu" but translated correctly as 

  Case 1 Zhaozhou dog seed  

           一 趙州狗子 趙州和尚、因僧問、狗子還有佛性也無。州云、無。

An automatic dictionary translation is curious.

"Son-of-a-bitch also. Has Buddha. The nature also does not have."

Usual translation:

A monk asked Zhaozhou, "Has a dog the Buddha Nature?"

 Zhaozhou answered, "Mu."

Common speculations by students, including the assertion that mu signifies that "It is unknowable whether the dog has Buddha-nature or not," that "the question has no meaning," that Zhaozhou intended to convey the sound of a barking dog, the way we would say "woof!", and other erroneous interpretations it is really folly to consider.

Some teachers have accepted with complete misunderstanding prefabricated responses such as shouting "mu!" or barking like a dog. Moreover, many other teachers do demand an entirely improvised response that we trust they understand must come from a direct experience, not the cognitive mind.

The Actual Answer

Translators in error often render Zhaozhou's answer as:

mu from Japanese texts. Since mu in Japanese means "six" we must conclude that wu and the erroneous mu mean not to have / no / none / not / to lack]. 

That same character appears at the end of verse 40 of Lao Zi's Daodejing in De 4:

   天下萬物生於有, 有生於無 (无)。

tiān xià wàn wù shēng yú yǒu,  yǒu shēng yú wú (wú).

[heaven-below-ten thousand-things-to be born-to exist], [to exist-to be born-from-not to have]

Hence the reply Wu may also be translated as non-existence.

The Question

Now in verbatim translation of the question, what we have is the following, which is not the same as the traditional:

[Zhaozhou Buddhist priest ].[BECAUSE-THE MONK-TO ASK], [DOG-offspring (seed) -TO RETURN-TO HAVE-BUDDHA NATURE ALSO NOT TO HAVE],[Zhou-to say],[ / not to have / no / none / not / to lack//non existence]