The recorded sayings of Zen Master Joshu = Chao-chou chan-shih yu-lu

Joshu Jushin (778-897) was one of the great Chan (Zen) masters of Ancient China. Many of the best-known koans originated with Joshu. Although Joshu's life itself is an embodiment of the Zen ideal, it was his particular ability to express the true nature of enlightened mind in a pithy and succinct fashion that made his teaching so influential. His sayings and dialogues have been preserved in the Zen literature as timeless and potent expressions of the experience of enlightenment. Included here is the first complete translation of Joshu's saying, dialogues and poems, as well as records of his pilgrimages and a short biography. Joshu Jushin, also known as Chao-chou Ts'ung-shen (778-897), was one of the great Ch'an (Zen) masters of ancient China. It is said of Joshu that his "lips emitted light" because his manner of teaching was to speak words that so profoundly expressed Zen realization that students often had immediate insight. Although Joshu's life itself is an embodiment of the Zen ideal, it was this particular ability to express the true nature of the enlightened mind in a way that was pithy and succinct that made his teaching so influential.Many of the best-known Zen koans originated with Joshu (including the famous, "Does a dog have Buddha nature?") and his importance as a teacher can be measured by the prevalence of his sayings in the great koan anthologies of Zen literature: of the forty-eight koans collected in the Gateless Gate, five are Joshu's, and among the one hundred koans of the Blue Cliff Record, twelve are Joshu's sayings.Included here is the first complete translation of Joshu's sayings, Zen dialogues, poems, records of his pilgrimages, as well as a short biography. Image 0 Image 1 Image 2 Image 3 Image 4 Image 5 Image 6 Image 7 Image 8 Image 9 Image 10 Image 11 Image 12 Image 13 Image 14 Image 15 Image 16 Image 17 Image 18 Image 19 Image 20 Image 21 Image 22 Image 23 Image 24 Image 25 Image 26 Image 27 Image 28 Image 29 Image 30 Image 31 Image 32 Image 33 Image 34 Image 35 Image 36 Image 37 Image 38 Image 39 Image 40 Image 41 Image 42 Image 43 Image 44 Image 45 Image 46 Image 47 Image 48 Image 49 Image 50 Image 51 Image 52 Image 53 Image 54 Image 55 Image 56 Image 57 Image 58 Image 59 Image 60 Image 61 Image 62 Image 63 Image 64 Image 65 Image 66 Image 67 Image 68 Image 69 Image 70 Image 71 Image 72 Image 73 Image 74 Image 75 Image 76 Image 77 Image 78 Image 79 Image 80 Image 81 Image 82 Image 83 Image 84 Image 85 Image 86 Image 87 Image 88 Image 89 Image 90 Image 91 Image 92 Image 93 Image 94 Image 95 Image 96 Image 97 Image 98 Image 99 Image 100 Image 101 Image 102

The first full English translation gives the odd, outrageous, and illuminating replies of this founding Zen (Ch'an) master from North China to the questions of 8th and 9th century Buddhist monks. It is said of Joshu that _his lips emitted light,_ evoking clearly his own experience and enlightenment. His teachings are a keynote in the official koan of Zen.