Culture

Famous Zen Koans

Name: Famous Zen Koans
Creator: Community curated
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Mu, the sound of one hand clapping, your original face - which koan cracks the mind open the hardest?

Famous Zen Koans — 13 entries in the culture category, sortable by Koan, Collection, Attributed Master. A clean, structured reference list with the full source data in one place.

Browse the full list below, or download the raw data as CSV, JSON, or Excel.

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Source:Community curated

Updated:4/9/2026

#culture #zen #buddhism #koans #philosophy #meditation

13/13

Koan↕	Collection↕	Attributed Master↕	Era↕	Theme↕	Description↕
Mu	Gateless Gate, Case 1	Zhaozhou (Joshu)	Tang Dynasty, 9th c.	Buddha-nature	A monk asks Zhaozhou whether a dog has Buddha-nature. Zhaozhou answers Mu - the most famous koan in Zen
Sound of one hand	Hakuin's koans	Hakuin Ekaku	Edo Japan, 18th c.	Non-duality	Hakuin asks what the sound of one hand clapping is, inventing a koan to match the depth of Mu
Original face	Platform Sutra	Huineng	Tang Dynasty, 7th c.	True self	Show me your original face before your parents were born - pointing to the self beyond the self
Wash your bowl	Gateless Gate, Case 7	Zhaozhou	Tang Dynasty, 9th c.	Everyday mind	A new monk asks for instruction. Zhaozhou asks if he has eaten. The monk says yes. Zhaozhou says go wash your bowl
Cypress tree in the garden	Gateless Gate, Case 37	Zhaozhou	Tang Dynasty, 9th c.	Direct pointing	Asked about the meaning of Bodhidharma coming from the West, Zhaozhou points to the cypress in the courtyard
Nansen kills the cat	Blue Cliff Record, Case 63	Nansen Fugan	Tang Dynasty, 9th c.	Attachment	Monks argue over a cat. Nansen threatens to kill it unless they say a true word. They are silent. He kills the cat
Does a dog have Buddha-nature	Book of Serenity, Case 18	Zhaozhou	Tang Dynasty, 9th c.	Yes and no	Same question, different answer - sometimes Zhaozhou says yes, sometimes no, pointing beyond either
Tozan's sixty blows	Blue Cliff Record, Case 12	Tozan Ryokai	Tang Dynasty, 9th c.	Responsibility	A monk asks what Buddha is. Tozan replies three pounds of flax, cutting through all concepts
Ummon's dried shit stick	Gateless Gate, Case 21	Ummon Bun'en	Tang Dynasty, 10th c.	Shock	Asked what Buddha is, Ummon answers a dried shit stick - demolishing the sacred-profane distinction
Kyogen's man up a tree	Gateless Gate, Case 5	Kyogen Chikan	Tang Dynasty, 9th c.	Impossible bind	A man hangs from a tree by his teeth. Someone asks why Bodhidharma came from the West. Speak and die, stay silent and fail
Buffalo through the window	Gateless Gate, Case 38	Goso Hoen	Song Dynasty, 11th c.	Stuck	A buffalo passes through a window - head, horns, and body all pass, but the tail cannot. Why not?
Not the wind, not the flag	Gateless Gate, Case 29	Huineng	Tang Dynasty, 7th c.	Mind only	Two monks argue whether a flag or the wind moves. Huineng says it is your mind that moves
Gutei's finger	Gateless Gate, Case 3	Gutei	Tang Dynasty, 9th c.	One gesture	Gutei always answered questions by raising one finger. When his student mimicked him, Gutei cut off the boy's finger

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Famous Zen Koans

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