Zen - Mu

Throughout his long career Chao-chou [778-897] taught in a simple manner with just a few quiet words. It is said that a light seemed to play about his mouth as he spoke. Dagen Kigen, who freely criticized many of his ancestors in the Dharma, could only murmur with awe, "Joshu, the Old Buddha." Forty generations of Zen students and more since his time, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, and now people everywhere, have breathed his one word "Mu," evoking the living presence of the Old Buddha himself.

Thus Mu is an arcanum - an ancient word or phrase that successive seekers down through the centuries have focused upon and found to be an opening into spiritual understanding. When you join that stream you have joined hands with countless pilgrims, past, present, future.

In everyday usage the word "Mu" means "does not have" but if that were Chao-chou's entire meaning, there wouldn't be any Zen.

- ROBERT AITKEN, THE GATELESS BARRIER