do jhana: Does a cow have buddha nature?

9.3.11

Does a cow have buddha nature?

I've played many times with this koan; I always thought of a dog-cow trying to resolve its life long koan; also I've observed how easily we reveal our dog-nature in working with koans, being zen, looking and finding the teacher.

This is Koro Kaisan Miles on Joshu's koan on dogs having buddha nature:

A classic example of how the humor of Zen has been lost is in Joshu’s Mu koan. The Japanese have made this a very serious koan; What did Joshu really mean? What is the deep meaning of Mu? Did Joshu contradict the Buddha? Think deeply on Mu, only then can you understand this very deep koan, ect. ect…

But at the right time and place the humor was obvious. The word Mu is what makes this confusing to the Japanese. In Chinese it is Wu and mimics the sound a dog makes.

So it really goes like this:

A monk asked Chao Chou: "Does a dog have Buddha Nature?"

Joshu barked back: "Wu!"

With the Japanese word Mu this would have been better understood if the koan read:

A monk asked Joshu: "Does a cow have Buddha Nature?"

Joshu bellowed: "Muuu!"

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Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun

Mission statement
The Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun is an international clerical order consisting of individual practitioners, sanghas and practice centers throughout the western world. The Mission of ZBOHY is:

To make the study and practice of Zen Buddhism accessible to the West through approaches that remain in keeping with the classical lineage tradition as translated into terms and concepts that are readily understood within the context of our native societies;
To be available to all people interested in the teachings and practice of Zen, and to provide an international online resource center for the study and promotion of Zen Buddhist teachings;

The charter of our order directs the following mandates:

To sustain an international clerical order dedicated to the dissemination of the practices and teachings of Zen Buddhism;
To offer the benefit of an international Zen sangha to isolated groups and solitary practitioners;
To hold no bias toward any particular cultural expression of Buddhism;
To embrace varied and multiple approaches to practice and teachings according to the needs of the individual or group;
To assure equal access and provide clerical services to all people regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, previous religious background, or personal history;
To abstain from political and other discussions and debates that do not serve the Dharma;
To abstain from conflict with and among other individuals and groups

Clerical Members of ZBOHY are encouraged to:

Continually review and renew their commitment to Zen practice and their understanding of the Dharma;
Abstain from promoting Zen as a specific ethnic tradition;
Establish sustainable sanghas that directly serve people in their local communities;
Provide Dharma teaching sessions, meditation instruction and/or retreats for all wishing to learn and experience Zen;
Promote the Zen teachings of the founders of our tradition and lineage.

In Summary:
Members of our order understand that the practice and study of Zen is a personal pursuit of both the individual and individual sanghas. While our lineage began in China, it is not the intention of ZBOHY to demand strict conformity of practice, or to import Chinese or Asian cultural Zen practices to the west. It is our goal to present both classical and contemporary Zen teachings, methods, and principles in the Western idiom as a guide to those wending their own way along the Path.