I have met Zhaozhou face-to-face. His response 'mu' to his student's question on whether a dog (or duck or maggot) did not mean 'no'. In our vernacular it could be translated as 'whatever', or 'moot'. If you're spending all your time or posts speculating about Buddha Nature you're barking up the wrong tree, or swimming in the wrong pond, or gnawing on the wrong carrion.
Back in Thailand and lurking no more...Bill! From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Anthony Wu Sent: Saturday, December 20, 2008 3:42 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Zen] Nature? Edgar, Your missed the point. On the one hand, everything has Buddha nature (your word 'innate' is correct). On the other, you should not attach to that idea. That is why Bill Smart's great grand father Zhaozhou zen master says, 'no', when asked 'does a dog have Buddha nature?'. Anthony --- On Fri, 19/12/08, Edgar Owen <[email protected]> wrote: From: Edgar Owen <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Zen] Ducks Have Buddha Nature? To: [email protected] Date: Friday, 19 December, 2008, 11:56 PM Anthony, It is nonsense to think that humans could convey Buddha nature on to anything at all by thinking about them. Buddha nature is innate in all things. Your ignorant Zhaozhou master needs a duck to teach him about Buddha nature! Edgar On Dec 19, 2008, at 9:47 AM, Anthony Wu wrote: Karin, Ducks have Buddha nature when we have sympathy with them. When you think about them in general terms, they should have no Buddha nature. Otherwise, you would attach to them. That is a teaching from Zhaozhou zen master. Anthony --- On Tue, 16/12/08, Karin <tortillera77@ yahoo.com> wrote: From: Karin <tortillera77@ yahoo.com> Subject: [Zen] Ducks Have Buddha Nature? To: zen_fo...@yahoogrou ps.com Date: Tuesday, 16 December, 2008, 4:55 PM I work at a shopping mall and there is a canal nearby and there are lots of ducks in the area.. I feed them out of the back of the store sometimes, and they run towards me and I talk to them. That is fun. However, many people dislike the ducks because they poop a lot, and I have seen some people run them over with their cars when they are driving through the shopping center. They have contempt for the ducks and think that if the ducks are in the way of the car, it is OK to run over them. This is very sad to me. ________________________________________ Get your preferred Email name! Now you can @ymail.com and @rocketmail. .com. ________________________________________ New Email names for you! Get the Email name you've always wanted on the new @ymail and @rocketmail. Hurry before someone else does! __________ NOD32 3705 (20081219) Information __________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
