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Koryu Osaka

The Gateless Gate or Mumonkan is the most popular and widely used of all zen koan collections. In 1228 A.D., the Chinese Rinzai Zen Master Mumon Ekai selected forty-eight important koans from the sayings of the old masters, added his own commentary and verse to each one, and gave them to his students for their zen study. The Mumonkan was first brought to Japan in 1254 A.D. by one of Mumons’ disciples, the Japanese monk Shinjii Kakushin (1207-98)/ The first case of the Mumonkan, and one of the most famous, is “Joshu’s Mu,” with which Master Mumon struggled for six years before attaining enlightenment.

JOSHU’S DOG

The case

A monk asked Joshu in all earnestness, “Has a dog Buddha nature or not?” Joshu said, “MU!”

Mumon’s Commentary

For the practice of Zen, you must pass the barrier set up by the ancient masters of Zen. To attain to marvellous enlightenment, you must completely extinguish all the delusive thoughts of the ordinary mind. If you have not passed the barrier and have not extinguished delusive thoughts, you are a phantom haunting the weeds and trees. Now, just tell me, what is the barrier of our sect by the Zen masters of old? Merely this Mu – the one barrier of our sect. It has come to called “The Gateless Barrier of the Zen Sect”.

Those who have passed the barrier are able not only to see Joshu face to face but also to walk hand in hand with the whole descending line of Zen masters and be eyebrow to eyebrow with them. You will see with the same eye that they see with, hear with the same ear that they hear with.

Wouldn’t it be a wonderful joy? Isn’t there anyone who wants to pass this barrier? Then concentrate your whole self, with its 360 bones and joints and 84.000 pores, into Mu making your whole body a solid lump of doubt. Day and night, without ceasing, keep digging into it, but don’t take it as “nothingness” or as “being” or “non-being”. It must be like a red-hot iron ball that you have gulped down and that you try to vomit up, but cannot. You must extinguish all delusive thoughts and feelings that you have cherished up to the present. After a certain period of such efforts, Mu will then be like a dumb man who has had a dream. You will know yourself, and for yourself only.

Then all of sudden, Mu will break open and astonish the heavens and shake the earth. It will be just as if you had snatched the great sword of General Kan. If you meet a Buddha, you will kill him. If you meet an ancient Zen master, you will kill him. Through you may stand on the brink of life and death, you will enjoy the great freedom. In the six realms and the four modes of birth, you will live in the samadhi of innocent play.

Now, how should you concentrate on Mu? Exhaust every ounce of energy you have in doing it. And if you do not give up on the Way, you will be enlightened the way a candle in front of the Buddha is lighted by one touch of fire.

The Verse

Dog! Buddha nature!

The perfect manifestation, the absolute command,

A little “has” or “has not,”

And body is lost! Life is lost!

The whole essence of work on this koan can be summed up like this: You totally become Mu, from morning to night; even in dreams – even in sleep! – you are with Mu and Mu becomes yourself. That is the way to work on this koan.

When you work on this all the time, you will get very used to it, and without trying to put much effort into it, you will be in that state day and night. As you maintain such a state, you eventually totally become one with Mu, and you become Mu yourself, and Mu becomes your self, and you become the whole universe. And when you continue to maintain this state, ultimately an explosion will take place.

It is always helpful to adjust your breathing. When you inhale, try to push your lower abdomen forward slightly. When you exhale, as the lung volume decreases, the lower abdomen will slightly contract too.

Work on Mu in harmony with your breathing. Concentrating on Mu, try to hold it in your lower abdomen throughout your inhalation and exhalation.ur lower abdomen throughout your inhalation and exhalation.