AN INTRODUCTION TO ZENBUDDHISM
handeddownintheformofanecdotes. Thesearesubmitted
bytheteachertothestudentformeditation.Aclassicexample
is theWu-orMu-anecdote.A monkonceaskedthe master,
"Has a dog Buddhist nature, too?", whereuponthe master
answered,"Wu."AsSuzukiremarks,this"Wu" meansquite
simply"Wu",obviouslyjustwhatthedoghimselfwouldhave
saidinanswertothequestion.
Atfirstglanceitwouldapj>earthatthesubmissionofsucha
questionasfoodformeditationwouldmeanananticipationor
prejudicing ofthe finalresult, and that the contents ofthe
meditationwouldbedeterminedthereby,ratherliketheJesuit
Exercises,orcertainYogimeditations,thesubstanceofwhich
isdeterminedbyatasksubmittedbytheteacher.Thekoans,
however,areofsuchgreatvariety,suchambiguit)',andabove
all ofsuch overwhelming paradoxy, that even an expert is
completelyinthedark astowhatmay emergeasasuitable
solution. Moreover, thedescriptions oftheexperiencesareso
obscurethatinnosinglecasecouldoneperceiveanyunobjec-
tionable rational connection betsveen the koan and the ex-
perience. Sincenologicalsuccessioncaneverbeproved,itis
to be suppKDsedthat thekoan method lays not the smallest
restrictionup>on thefreedomofthespiritualoccurrences, and
that the final result therefore comes fi-om nothing but the
individualpredispositionoftheinitiate.Thecompletedestruction
oftherationalintellectaimedatinthetrainingcreatesanal-
mostperfectlackofsuppositionoftheconsciousness.Conscious
supposition is thereby excluded as far as possible, but not
unconscioussupposition; thatis,theexistingbutunperceived
psychologicaldisposition,whichisanythingbutemptinessand
lack ofsupposition. Itis a nature-givenfactor, and whenit
answers—asisob\'iouslythesatoriexperience—itisananswer
ofNature,whohassucceededinconveyingherreactionsdirect
to the consciousness.^ What the unconscious nature ofthe
studentopposestotheteacherortothekoan asanansweris
manifestlysatori.This,atleast,appears tometobethe-iew
which, byalldescriptions, wouldexpresstheessenceofsatori
moreorlesscorrectly.Thisviewisalsosupportedbythefact
^Suzuki{Essaysin^enBuddhism,II,p.46)says,"...Zenconsciousness
...whichisaglunpseintotheunconscious".