Click on any link below to read all the articles in the three-part Spring/Summer 2003 AUDIO KOANS series exploring the relationship between zen wisdom and sound:
1. If a Tree Falls In The Forest...
2. Sound of One Hand Clapping?
3. Zhàozhōu's Dog
* * *
Like this topic? Explore five-part Winter/Spring 2002 MYSTIC AUDIO series, from the Critical Noise Archive, exploring the relationship between spirit and sound:
1. Glossolalia: Speaking In Tongues
2. The Ur-Song
3. Theta Waves, Mantras & The Lord's Prayer
4. Atomic Rhythms
5. Thai Drum Samples For Sesame Workshop
Monday, June 02, 2003
Sunday, June 01, 2003
Audio Koans: Zhàozhōu's Dog
Zen Monk Zhao Zhou (778–897) was asked by one of his students if even a dog possessed Buddha nature. In western terms, the question might’ve been: Does a dog possess a soul? Or: Is a dog a sentient being?
To which the monk reportedly replied, “Wu.”
“Wu,” is translated as ‘No’, but through the abstract prism of Zen logic the answer is universally accepted as ‘Yes’.
Personally, I don’t think Zhao Zhou said ‘Wu’, –not at all.
Why do I believe that?
Because ‘Wu’ is a very un-Zen like response; not because of what it means, but because of what it is: A straight answer.
I believe Zhao Zhou’s real answer has been corrupted over the years by chains of brains too brittle to belong to Zen masters.
So what did Zhao Zhou say when asked: "Does a dog possess Buddha nature?"
I think the old monk answered as though he were a dog, imitating its sound on behalf of all canines everywhere: He didn’t cry back ‘Wu’; he howled back ‘Ah-woo’, or simply 'Woo!'
As anyone who’s ever been to a zoo or wolf preserve knows, when wild dogs or wolves howl, it in fact sounds just like ‘Ah-woo’ (pitch ascends on ‘woo’), or 'Woo'.
"Ah-woooooooooooo!"
Makes a little more sense, no?
Or you can scoff, grasshopper, but I'm still going with ‘Ah woo’.
* * *
Click on any link below to read all the articles in the three-part Spring/Summer 2003 AUDIO KOANS series exploring the relationship between zen wisdom and sound:
1. If a Tree Falls In The Forest...
2. Sound of One Hand Clapping?
3. Zhàozhōu's Dog
To which the monk reportedly replied, “Wu.”
“Wu,” is translated as ‘No’, but through the abstract prism of Zen logic the answer is universally accepted as ‘Yes’.
Personally, I don’t think Zhao Zhou said ‘Wu’, –not at all.
Why do I believe that?
Because ‘Wu’ is a very un-Zen like response; not because of what it means, but because of what it is: A straight answer.
I believe Zhao Zhou’s real answer has been corrupted over the years by chains of brains too brittle to belong to Zen masters.
So what did Zhao Zhou say when asked: "Does a dog possess Buddha nature?"
I think the old monk answered as though he were a dog, imitating its sound on behalf of all canines everywhere: He didn’t cry back ‘Wu’; he howled back ‘Ah-woo’, or simply 'Woo!'
As anyone who’s ever been to a zoo or wolf preserve knows, when wild dogs or wolves howl, it in fact sounds just like ‘Ah-woo’ (pitch ascends on ‘woo’), or 'Woo'.
"Ah-woooooooooooo!"
Makes a little more sense, no?
Or you can scoff, grasshopper, but I'm still going with ‘Ah woo’.
* * *
Click on any link below to read all the articles in the three-part Spring/Summer 2003 AUDIO KOANS series exploring the relationship between zen wisdom and sound:
1. If a Tree Falls In The Forest...
2. Sound of One Hand Clapping?
3. Zhàozhōu's Dog
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