The Core
The Shoyoroku Case 18: Zhaozhou's Dog is a koan in which, in response to a monk's question, "Does a dog have Buddha-nature?", Master Zhaozhou gives contradictory answers of "Yes" or "No."
Usually, people say that "it is a teaching that shows Buddha-nature is present in all things, transcending words and logic such as 'being' and 'non-being.'" However, in this dictionary, we define it as a practical lesson: "the true Buddhist path is to discard the 'pie in the sky' of correct answers within groups and acquired knowledge, completely shatter the game of dualistic logic with one's own hands, and leap directly into the reality of the here and now as an individual human being."
Q&A
- Q: Why did Zhaozhou give both "Yes" and "No" answers to the same question?
- A: Because Zhaozhou was not trying to teach a fixed "correct answer" of knowledge or doctrine, but rather intended to fundamentally shatter the rigid dualistic framework of "existence or non-existence" stuck in the questioners' minds. By deliberately thrusting completely opposite words upon them according to the nature of their delusions, he sought to awaken them to an absolute truth that transcends conceptual language.
