A monk asked Joshu, “Does a dog have buddhanature or not?”
Joshu replied, “Mu.”
Commentary: Dog in the backyard, lifetimes upon lifetimes spent shuttling between the bright sun of the deck and the smelly shade of the propane tank. But there is no door into the cool of the restful kitchen, and no one need open it. Upon realizing this, a dog passes naturally through the Gateless Gate.
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John House , a writer and editor living New York, is currently at work, "almost imperceptibly," on his first novel. He is the former managing editor of Yahoo! Internet Life.
