As a surname, he appears in numerous references to fictional and non-fictional characters ranging from the Chinaman in the TV series “Deadwood”, to the songs of George Formby, or even “Dr. Wu” by Steely Dan.
It is a very common name in China, as well as an informal category for a form of Chinese spoken in the Wu Provence of China.
Depending upon the dialect, the Chinese word for “No” can be pronounced “Wú”, or “Bú”. In Japanese or Korean, it is translated as “Mu”.
“Mu” is also a key element in Zen Buddhism.
The Buddha stated that “All things have Buddha-nature” despite the fact that he also allegedly stated immediately after his own birth that “…from the heavens above to the earth below, only I am holy.”
Wú! is also the enigmatic emphatically negative response to the question in Zhaozhou’s answer (he is called Jo-Ju in Korean) in the Zen Koan that asks whether or not the dog has Buddha-Nature. It is often listed as the first of the Ten Gates.
Mu is also sometimes translated as “Pure human awareness, prior to experience or knowledge”.
In the Jogye practice of Korean Zen Buddhism as exemplified by the teachings of Seung-San Soen-Sa, this refers to what one knows intrinsically “in a place before words or thoughts”, sometimes expressed as “don’t-know-mind” or “you already know”, or even “if you open your mouth to speak, already you are wrong.”
It also may be intended to imply that the question is improper and must be unasked because yes is just as wrong as no or even no response at all.
Robert Persig, the author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance equates this to a “Mu” (High-Resistance) state by identifying that although it is frequently asserted that binary computers are controlled by either a “One” or a “Zero” value, if the power is shut down there is neither “One” or “Zero”.
Yet in contemplating these interpretations of Zhao-zhou/Chao-chou/ or Jo-Ju’s response I could not help noticing how the emphatic pronunciation is also a phonetic pun that mimics that sound of the barking of a dog, thereby calling attention to our attachment to words.
“Wu!”
This makes perfect sense…in fact, I have never heard a dog issue either a “Bow!” or a “Wow!”
“Wu!”
I do understand the value of the contemplation of this enigmatic and paradoxical Koan for its own sake. For many years, I had only heard or read the English translation of “No!” and it encouraged the maintenance of the “ever-questioning mind” that is a fundamental cornerstone of Zen from which many other understandings were to come.
Mu is important to understand that any and all thoughts or uses of reason and words are to be cut off and discarded when the conditions of the question do not match the reality.
For some reason, when I read Persig’s book, his explanation of “mu” did not stick, and was completely forgotten for more than thirty years.
Obviously, that might have helped me many years ago…but perhaps not….
Easy answers may lead to facile understandings of more complex questions.
“Wu Wei” is a term for without action or even “Wei wu wei” meaning action without action or effortless action as in the Tao of T’ai chi ch’uan.
In similar fashion, at the risk of being a “spoiler” I would also like to propose the following solutions to several other enigmatic questions, such as:
If all things return to the One, to where does the One return?
ZERO. As simplistic as this may seem, it is nonetheless true.
In Buddhism, this is supported by the concept of Impermanence.
It is a fundamental scientific concept, especially in regard to quantum mechanics.
“First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain then there is…”
You are a Zen Master in a monastery, and a very large, intimidating man comes into the temple, who lights a cigarette, whereupon he blows smoke into the face of the statue of the Buddha, and drops the ashes onto the statue as well.
He believes that Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form.
All things have Buddha-nature…he is the Buddha, the Buddha is him. No matter where he drops the ashes, the Buddha is everywhere. He is stuck and thinks that there is nothing else beyond his belief. Ashes are Buddha, Buddha is ashes
It is a given that “If you open your mouth to speak, already you are wrong” because all words have opposites and create disagreement.
If you try to teach his error with words, he will only hit you.
What can you do to teach him?
This Koan was popularized by Seung-San Soen-Sa, a patriarch of the Jogye Order of the Kwan Um School of Korean Zen, presented to him by Mang-Gong, his teacher.
In all my research of this Koan, it is to date, the only one that was never explained in print, and it seemed that no answer was to be found anywhere, despite the fact that I have struggled with this question for more than twenty years.
This question has to do with what is called “Dharma Action” such as biting an apple, ringing a bell, or drinking tea, because in the final stage of Zen, “everything is just like this…just this, only this…in a place before words or thoughts…”.
All is an illusion, a dream of dreaming. There is only impermanence. Even the comings and goings are an illusion.
Form is Form, Emptiness is Emptiness.
Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form.
No Form, no Emptiness…only this…Nirvana.
Magic, Madness and Absolute Freedom; Fish fly in a fiery sky and birds swim in a bottomless sea of all the tears of all the Buddhas, past and present. A stone girl plays a flute with no holes as lions dance with lambs to a song with no words or notes.
Form is Form, Emptiness is Emptiness…everything is just like this. We have found our way back to a home that was already ours before our parents were born. We now recognize our one true face. We are like a mirror.
For several years, I believed that the answer was “Nothing” because all words create disagreement, and that perhaps the lack of reaction (Wu-wei) would eventually cause the man with the cigarette to realize his error, because for one thing, the statue of the Buddha is not the Buddha.
How many people does it take to achieve world peace?
One. (If that answer isn’t obvious, then think about it until it is…)
I figured it was best not to argue, but I was still attached to words and thoughts.
In fact however, I just had not yet come to realize the Dharma action that would cause him to realize that, like the Uroborus, all Zen teaching leads back to itself; “Form is Form, Emptiness is Emptiness…everything is Just Like This.”
Sooooo…What do you do?
Smile. Pick up the Ashes, and with great loving-kindness, blow them into his face.
Buddha is Buddha. Ashes are Ashes. (He can taste the difference.)
A quarter is still twenty-five cents.
“The mouse eats cat-food, but the cat-bowl is broken.”
As the tides come and go, fish swim in and out of the river as it flows to and from the sea.
Can you hear me Dr. Wu?
Namasté
नमस्ते
Chazz Vincent
08/01/2015
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