Editing Koan (section)

==Examples of traditional kōans==
<!-- Note to editors: the list in this section should not attempt to interpret the meanings -->

===Does a dog have Buddha-nature===
{{Main|Mu (negative)}}

{{blockquote|
A monk asked [[Zhaozhou Congshen|Zhàozhōu]], "Does a dog have [[Buddha nature]], or does he not have Buddha-nature?"

Zhaozhou said, "[[Mu (negative)|Wú]]".}}

"Zhaozhou" is rendered as "Chao-chou" in [[Wade–Giles]], and pronounced "Joshu" in Japanese. "Wu" appears as "mu" in Japanese, meaning "no", "not", "nonbeing", or "without" in English. This is a fragment of Case No. 1 of the ''[[The Gateless Gate|Wúménguān]]''. However, another koan presents a longer version, in which Zhaozhou answered "yes" in response to the same question asked by a different monk: see Case No. 18 of the ''Book of Serenity''.

===The sound of one hand===
{{Further|Hakuin Ekaku#Hear the sound of one hand}}

{{Blockquote
|text=Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand? ({{lang|ja|隻手声あり、その声を聞け}})
|sign=[[Hakuin Ekaku]]
}}

Victor Hori comments:
{{Blockquote|...&nbsp;in the beginning a monk first thinks a kōan is an inert object upon which to focus attention; after a long period of consecutive repetition, one realizes that the kōan is also a dynamic activity, the very activity of seeking an answer to the kōan. The kōan is both the object being sought and the relentless seeking itself. In a kōan, the self sees the self not directly but under the guise of the kōan ... When one realizes ("makes real") this identity, then two hands have become one. The practitioner becomes the kōan that he or she is trying to understand. That is the sound of one hand.{{sfn|Hori|1999}}}}

Yet, Hakuin himself introduced this question with a reference to [[Kanzeon]] (Guanyin), bodhisattva of great compassion, who hears the sounds of the suffering ones in the world, and is awakened by hearing these sounds and responding to them. To hear the sound of one hand is to still the sounds of the world, that is, to put an end to all suffering.

===Original face===
{{Main|Original face}}

{{blockquote|[[Huineng|Huìnéng]] asked [[Hui Ming]], "Without thinking of good or evil, show me your original face before your mother and father were born."}}

This is a fragment of case No. 23 of the ''Wumenguan''.

===Killing the Buddha===
{{Blockquote
|text=If you meet the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], kill him. ({{lang|zh|逢佛殺佛}})
|sign=[[Linji Yixuan|Linji]]
}}

===Other koans===
{{blockquote|
A student asked Master Yun-Men (949 AD) "Not even a thought has arisen; is there still a sin or not?"

Master replied, "[[Mount Sumeru]]!"}}

{{blockquote|
A monk asked [[Dongshan Shouchu]], "What is Buddha?"

Dongshan said, "Three pounds of [[flax]]."}}
This is a fragment of case No. 18 of the ''Wumenguan'' as well as case No. 12 of the ''[[Blue Cliff Record]]''.

{{blockquote|
A monk asked [[Ummon]], "What is the teaching that transcends the Buddha and patriarchs?"

Ummon said, "A sesame bun."
| ''[[Blue Cliff Record]]'', case no. 77}}

{{blockquote|
A monk asked Zhaozhou, "What is the meaning of the ancestral teacher's (i.e., [[Bodhidharma]]'s) coming from the west?"

Zhaozhou said, "The cypress tree in front of the hall."}}
This is a fragment of case No. 37 of the ''Wumenguan'' as well as case No. 47 of the ''Book of Serenity''.