The meditation with koan “Mu” is one of the most well-known koans within the Zen tradition. A koan is a kind of riddle or paradoxical question used in Zen practice to induce the awakening of the mind. The koan “Mu” has its origin in a dialogue between Master Joshu and one of his disciples.
Koan mu meditation
One day, a disciple asked Joshu, “Does a dog have Buddha nature or not?” (“Buddha nature” refers to the innate capacity for awakening that all beings possess). Joshu simply responded with the word “Mu,” which in Japanese means “no” or “nothing.” This seemingly contradictory response is the core of this koan.
The question of whether a dog has Buddha nature and the response “Mu” poses a dilemma that goes beyond conventional logic. Zen practitioners face this koan as part of their meditation practice, and they are asked to meditate deeply on the answer “Mu.” The intention behind this is for the practitioner to transcend duality and conceptual mind in order to experience a direct and non-conceptual understanding of reality.
The goal of working with the koan “Mu” (and any koan) is to provoke awakening, in which the limitations of the ordinary mind are transcended, and a profound understanding of the nature of reality is achieved.
It is important to highlight that the process of working with a koan does not simply involve finding a correct answer from an intellectual standpoint. Rather, it is about deeply immersing oneself in the koan and experiencing an internal transformation that goes beyond words and logic.
meditation workshop
Saturday, September 16, 2023, at 5:00 PM, in-person and online. The koan mu workshop lasts two hours, during which Zen Master Lluis Nansen Salas will guide us in a meditation to delve into the koan “Mu.” Location: Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 665, Barcelona.
This workshop is part of the koan module in the Buddhist Meditations course. For more information on the schedule and prices, and to register for this workshop, the koan module, or the complete meditations course, please fill out the form on this page: Koan Meditations.