Dao (Tao) and Chan (Zen)

Dao, road.
The old character is a picture of a foot and a big head with eye, on a crossroad. Going YOUR road, walking YOUR way.

the later way of writing the character dao.

img char. chan

Some Zen-stories I especially like

Mu

A monk asked Joshu, a Chinese Zen Master:�
�Has a dog Buddha-nature or not?�
Joshu answered �Mu.�
Mumon�s comment: Has a dog Buddha-nature?
This is the most serious question of all.
If you say yes or no,
You lose your own Buddha-nature.

If you let anyone trick you into choosing or judging, you lose the fullness of life. Life is not this or that, life is all.
We spread this one around among all our acquaintances. Even people who know nothing about Zen, use it now. It works great.�
Every time someone is telling something difficult, hard to believe, awkward to react to, and so on, the other one says 'Mu', and everybody laughs. Nobody offended.

Nothing evil, nothing good.
My original face, NOW.

I found this one in the book 'The world of sound' by J-E Berendt. Somewhere I have seen it as 'find your original face', and another time 'what was your face before you were born'.�
This one also says: Don't judge anything, including yourself. Just be what you are. And not for time of a certain duration: this one second is now, and now is always and forever.

Clapping in your hands makes a sound.
What is the sound of one hand?

The very first koan I ever heard in my life. It immediately opened my heart. It was love for Zen a first sight.