What Are You?

Koan

A student asked Seung Sahn: 'The dog has Buddha-nature or not? Zhaozhou said Mu. What does Mu mean?' Seung Sahn held up his Zen stick and said: 'You already understand Mu perfectly. What are you?' The student was silent. Seung Sahn said: 'This silence is not enough. Open your mouth.' The student said: 'I don't know.' Seung Sahn said: 'Only don't know! That is Mu. That is Buddha-nature. That is your correct situation. Don't lose it.'

tr. Traditional dharma exchange, reconstructed from Kwan Um School teaching records

license: fair_use

Attribution

• Speaker
  Seung Sahn

Lineage: Kwan Um

By Seung Sahn

• Four Questions That Are Onesaying
• Only Don't Knowpractice-instruction
• Only Don't Knowproverb
• Just Do Itproverb
• Vow Before Wisdomproverb

Sources

• contentKwan Um School of Zen — Teachings of Zen Master Seung Sahn

  Kwan Um School of Zen

  Kwan Um School — Dharma exchange on 'What are you?' and Zhaozhou's Mu

  Dropping Ashes on the Buddha: What Are You?