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is nobody -- pure silence.
This silence is samadhi. When you start having glimpse of this silence, your life starts changing. Then you live for the first time in a poetic way. Then death creates no fear in you. Then nothing can disturb you or distract you.
The master's reply, MU, really means yes. But he didn't say yes for a certain reason -- because the yes will be misunderstood. Then the man would have thought that the dog also has the same self as the Buddha -- that's why he didn't use the word 'yes'. He said no. But he does not mean that the dog has not the same nature. He means both have nothingness inside. The form differs.
For a Buddhist, and particularly a Zen Buddhist, there is nothing profane and nothing sacred.
Listen to this story:
It was a solemn, dignified gathering of deeply concerned people assembled to learn the Truth. They had gathered, they believed, to hear the final secrets of the universe. At long last they were face to face with the Absolute, the Ultimate, finally, they thought, to hear the gems of wisdom for which prince and pauper have struggled since the beginning of time.
Imagine the dignity of it all, the solemnity, the air of expectancy that filled the room as The Master entered. An electrified hush descended. The room became a cathedral. Every eye was upon The Master and there were those who thought they saw his aura. There were those who saw angels hovering near.
The Master sat down and prepared to speak. The audience leaned forward and with bated breath prepared to catch his every word. Finally, after what seemed an interminable time, The Master of Righteousness opened his mouth and taught them saying, "Today, this very moment, I am wearing fuzzy underwear." And that was all that he taught that day.
Zen has a totally different approach towards life. It does not believe in the sacred, it does not believe in the profane. It does not believe in anything -- it is all one. Dog and God -- it is all one. Buddha, no Buddha -- it is all one. The ignorant, the wise -- it is all one. The sinner and saint -- it is all one.
WHEN ASKED, HE ANSWERED;
NO QUESTION, NO ANSWER;
THEN
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