MU-Peter: November 2016

No Thing

I gained not one thing from

Absolute Awakening

and that is why it is called

Absolute Awakening

(Buddha Gautama)

The Japanese and Korean term mu

(Japanese: 無; Korean: 무) or Chinese wú (traditional Chinese: 無; simplified Chinese: 无) meaning "not have; without"

is a key word in Buddhism,

especially the Chan and Zen traditions.

The Gateless Gate,
which is a 13th-century collection
of Chan or Zen kōans,
uses the word wu or mu in its title (Wumenguan or Mumonkan 無門關)
and first kōan case ("Joshu's Dog" 趙州狗子). Chinese Chan calls the word mu 無
"the gate to enlightenment".
The Japanese Rinzai school
classifies the Mu Kōan as hosshin 発心
"resolve to attain enlightenment",
that is,
appropriate for beginners seeking kenshō
"to see the Buddha-nature"'.

(Wikipedia - Mu (negative)

"A special transmission outside the teachings;

not depending on words or letters;

directly pointing to Mind;

realizing one's True Nature

and becoming Buddha."

Bodhidharma

First Patriarch of Ch'an or Zen Buddhism

Follow your nature
and accord with the Tao;
Saunter along and stop worrying.
If your thoughts are tied
you spoil what is genuine...

Don't be antagonistic
to the world of the senses,
For when you are

not antagonistic to it,
It turns out to be the same as
complete Awakening.

The wise person does not strive;
The ignorant man ties himself up...
If you work on your mind
with your mind,
How can you avoid

an immense confusion?

(Seng-ts'an)

do nothing

be nothing

think nothing

In some Eastern philosophies,
the concept of "nothingness" is characterized by an egoless state of being in which one fully realizes one's own small part in the cosmos.

The understanding of 'nothing' varies widely between cultures, especially between Western and Eastern cultures and philosophical traditions.

For instance, Śūnyatā (emptiness), unlike "nothingness", is considered to be a state of mind in some forms of Buddhism (see Nirvana, mu, and Bodhi). Achieving 'nothing' as a state of mind in this tradition allows one to be totally focused on a thought or activity at a level of intensity that they would not be able to achieve if they were consciously thinking. A classic example of this is an archer attempting to erase the mind and clear the thoughts to better focus on the shot.

Some authors have pointed to similarities between the Buddhist conception of nothingness and the ideas of Martin Heidegger and existentialists like Sartre, although this connection has not been explicitly made by the philosophers themselves.

(Wikipedia - Nothing )