Case 1. Joshus "mu"

A monk asked joshu, " has the dog Buddha nature?" Joshu replied, "mu"

Mumons comments.

In order to master zen, you must pass the barrier of the patriarchs. To attain this subtle realization, you must completeley cut off the way of thinking. If you do not pass the barrier, and do not cut off the way of thinking, then you will be like a ghost clinging to bushes and weeds. Now, I want to ask you, what is the barrier of the patriarchs? Why it is this single word "mu" that is the front gate to zen, therefore it is called the mumonkan of zen, if you pass it, you will see joshu face to face go hand in hand with the patriarchs, entangling your eyebrows with his, seeing with the same eyes and hearing with the same ears. Wouldn't you like to pass this barrier?

Arouse your entire body, with its three hundred and sixty bones and its eighty thousand pores of skin, summon up a spirit of great doubt and concentrate on this word "mu".

Carry it continuously day and night Do not form a nihilistic conception of vacancy, or a relative conception of has, or has not. It will be just as if you had swallowed a red hot ball of iron, which you cannot spit out. All illusory ideas and delusive thoughts accumulated upto the present will be exterminated, and when the time comes, internal and external will be spontaneously united.

Now, I want to ask you again, how will you carry it out? Employ every ounce of energy to work on this "mu" if you hold on without interruption, behold, a single spark and the Holy candle is lit..

My take.

Mumon is telling us, in plain language, to willfully concentrate on this word "mu" all day, and all night, ceaselessly.

Its a concentration meditation, focusing the discriminatory awareness on this word, mu. All the time, in order to defeat its action.

Mumon says to employ every ounce of your energy on this, it's a willful action of mind, to undo the previous conditions of mind.

Using a thorn, to remove the thorn.

Submitted June 01, 2020 at 12:15PM by transmission_of_mind https://ift.tt/3eDIBId