Like Cats and Dogs: Contesting the Mu Koan in Zen BuddhismKoans are dialogues that stand at the center of Zen Buddhist literature and are often used to provoke the "great doubt" in testing a trainee's progress. The Mu Koan consists of a brief conversation in which a monk asks Master Zhaozhou whether or not a dog has Buddha-nature. According to the main version, the reply is "Mu" literally, "No," but implying the philosophical notion of nothingness. This case is widely considered to be the single best- known and most widely circulated koan record of the Zen school that offers existential release from anxiety to attain spiritual illumination. In a careful analysis of the historical and rhetorical basis of the literature, Steven Heine demonstrates that the Mu version of the case, preferred by advocates of the key-phrase approach, does not by any means constitute the final word concerning the meaning and significance of the Mu Koan. He shows that another canonical version, which gives both "Yes" and "No" responses, must be taken into account. Like Cats and Dogs offers critical insight and a new theoretical perspective on "the koan of koans." |
Contents
1 More Cats Than Dogs? A Tale of Two Versions | 1 |
2 Would a Dog Lick a Pot of Hot Oil? Reconstructing the Ur Version | 37 |
Methodological Reflections on Deconstructing the Emphatic Mu | 74 |
Textual and Historical Deconstruction of the Ur Version | 110 |
Reconstructing the | 148 |
6 When Is a Dog Not Really a Dog? Or Yes We Have No BuddhaNature | 188 |
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Common terms and phrases
approach attainment awakening awareness of karma Baizhang Blue Cliff Record Buddha Buddha-nature Buddhist Caodong Caodong school capping phrase century China cited classic commentary cypress tree Dahui Dharma disciple discourse doctrine dog have Buddha-nature dog’s Dōgen Dogen zenji Dual Version Emphatic enlightenment evoked example expression Extensive Record fascicle Gateless Gate hermeneutic highlights historical Hongzhi Hongzhou Huangbo Huineng insentient interpretations Japan Japanese Jinul Kattō key-phrase method kōan collections kōan records kōan tradition kōan-investigation Korean lineage Linji school literary meaning meditation monk asked Zhaozhou Mu Kōan Nanquan negation nianfo nothingness notion passage practice prose question Record of Serenity reflecting regard remarks rendition reply response rhetoric Rinzai role Schlütter sectarian sentient Shōbōgenzō silent-illumination Sōtō Southern Song spiritual standpoint style Sutra Tang teachings temple texts textual tion Watō words Wumen Wuzu Xuedou Yuanwu zenji Zhaozhou 佛性