Quick Koan Solutions for Swordsmen

Swordsmen are rumored to solve problems in a flash, drawing from their mighty Hara and, if necessary, with the help of their inherited 100-year-old family sword. So, what’s your answer to tricky Zen Koans?

The Mu (無) Koan, the most difficult and notorious of them all (it’s said to stump all Rinzai monks). The question: »Does a dog have Buddha-nature?« Joshu’s (a monk’s) answer: »Mu« (= nothing). The Swordsman’s answer: A quick bark like a dog, then beats it. Problem solved bloodlessly.

Shuzan held up his staff and asked: »If you call this a staff, you deny its essence. If you call this not a staff, you deny the fact. So, what do you call this?« The Swordsman’s solution: Break the staff – no staff, no stupid questions. Case closed.

Basho said to the monks: »If you have a stick, I will give you one. If you have no stick, I will take it from you.« The Swordsman’s response: »I only trust my sword.« Check!

Note for puzzled Iaidoka

Zen koans are infamous: questions with no factual solution, not aiming for an answer but for inner realization and action. In a monastic setting, they serve to radically break habitual patterns of thought – the goal is immediate awareness. It’s about breakthrough, not debate.

The responses sketched here from the perspective of a swordsman are not philosophical commentaries, but tongue-in-cheek action cues in the spirit of budo: directness, presence, responsibility.
If a Zen monk asks whether a dog has Buddha-nature, the swordsman simply barks and moves on. If asked whether a staff is a staff/* or not – he breaks it. The question is not logically resolved but disarmed. No room for overthinking – the moment is right. Academic research questions about stick-objects will not help; a sword is real.

/* With “staff” the walking stick is meant, symbolizing the monk’s wandering path. At the same time, it is also a physical, harmless object for a riddle.

This is not intended as a critique of Zen. On the contrary: the questions of monks and the answers of fighters are not in contradiction. Both know: no one else will live your life for you. A swordsman however carries an additional burden: with a weapon in hand, he has both the right and the duty to make decisions – and to take responsibility for them.

Like this

Related Posts