Like Cats and Dogs

The Mu Kōan 無公案 (or Wu Gongan in its original Chinese pronunciation) consists of a brief conversation in which a monk asks master Zhaozhou Congshen whether or not a dog has Buddha-nature, and the reply is Mu (Ch. Wu), literally “No.” This case, the first kōan in the Gateless Gate, is surely the single best-known and most widely circulated and transmitted kōan record of the Zen (Ch. Chan, Kr. Seon) school of Buddhism. It is recognized as “the kōan of kōans,” according to Japanese authority Akizuki Ryūmin, or as the first and foremost example among thousands of cases. In the other major version in the Record of Serenity and additional collections, however, there are both “Yes” (Ch. You, Jp. U) and “No” replies extended by Zhaozhou with a follow-up question-and-answer in each instance. This results in a total of four mini-dialogues that frequently lead to multilayered interlinear commentaries expressing a view of ambiguity and relativism. A primary area of significance of this study is to explain and come to terms with the basis and implications of longstanding sectarian disputes derived from situating the two different versions in terms of underlying areas of cohesion between feuding sectarian factions. Ideological discrepancies exist but perhaps in different ways than what is presented in stereotypical depictions of the case derived from the self-presentation of only one of the parties engaged in debate.

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