Zhaozhou Congshen

How do we adjust to these shifts in life? How do we adjust to being who we are in different circumstances? This is what this particular koan is pointing to.

Zhaozhou, who lived in the eighth and ninth century, he died when he was around 118 years old, according to our Zen history.

in quotation marks, was an important figure in Zen.

Many, many stories are told about him and his teachings which point to all the different aspects of what it means to be a person who practices Zen.

And this kind of transitioning happens to all of us all the time, but we usually don't notice it.

We might call it the transition of the self.

In Zhaozhou's time in China, and I know this is true for many places in the world, having been to cities all over the world that are surrounded by walls, great walls that have gates in them that allow people to come and go during the day, but that were shut at night to prevent thieves and perhaps other kinds of enemies from coming in and disturbing the peace of whatever that town or city was.

Nowadays, there aren't walled cities that keep their gates closed, as far as I know.

And, um, don't waste it, don't kill time, don't, uh, don't, uh, squander it away, don't sit passively, don't an- uh, overly anticipate, don't memorize or parrot what other people have said.

Uh, the famous monk Zhaozhou, or Joshu in Japanese, uh, those who are enlightened con- unenlightened are controlled by 24 hours, but those who are enlightened are in control of the 24 hours of the day.

And, uh, you know, this diagram kind of shows out, uh, some of these themes.

Uh, stay active, stay attentive, stay in the moment.

One of the most famous koans in the Rinzai tradition is the so-called mu koan.

It comes from a dialogue between the Chan master Zhaozhou and a student who asks a seemingly straightforward question, "Does a dog have Buddha nature?" Now, according to Mahayana Buddhist teachings, the answer is a clear, easy yes.

All sentient beings are said to possess Buddha nature.

But Zhaozhou doesn't say yes, he says mu.

No, or literally it does not have it.

Wait a minute, is Zhao Zhou denying a core doctrine? Well, no, not exactly.