i Register
In some senses, mu is marked as slang. Watch for register when choosing this word.
mu
/mjuː/
noun 8name 5intj 1
Collocations
5ADJ.
dualistic, interesting, legendary, lost, old, still
VERB + MU
answer, answered, choose, contemplate, heard, level, saying
MU + NOUN
ammad, belqasem, corp, dahl, ibn, intc, intel, it's
PREP.
about, from, on
ADV.
consequently, only, only, simply
Definitions
noun
1
The 12th letter of the Modern Greek alphabet.
intj
1
Neither yes nor no.
Mu means "no thing." Like "Quality" it points outside the process of dualistic discrimination. Mu simply says, "No class; not one, not zero, not yes, not no."[…]It's a great mistake, a kind of dishonesty, to sweep nature's mu answers under the carpet.
[p. 233] Achilles: Oh, but ‘MU’ is Jōshū’s answer. By saying ‘MU’, Jōshū let the other monk know that only by not asking such questions can one know the answer to them. Tortoise: Jōshū “unasked” the question. [p. 312] Achilles:[…]And the answer of “MU” here rejects the premises of the question, which are that one or the other must be chosen.
noun
1
Nothingness; nonexistence; the illusory nature of reality.
That being the case, we should naturally choose to contemplate mu from morning to night, forgetting everything.
Consequently, though mu is mindlike, the likeness to individual consciousness cannot be pushed very far.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
Antonyms
Idioms & Phrases
Example Bank
601
Mu means "no thing." Like "Quality" it points outside the process of dualistic discrimination. Mu simply says, "No class; not one, not zero, not yes, not no."[…]It's a great mistake, a kind of dishone
Wiktionary02
[p. 233] Achilles: Oh, but ‘MU’ is Jōshū’s answer. By saying ‘MU’, Jōshū let the other monk know that only by not asking such questions can one know the answer to them. Tortoise: Jōshū “unasked” the q
Wiktionary03
"Mu," said Kelly Dahl. On one level mu means only yes, but on a deeper level of Zen it was often used by the master when the acolyte asked a stupid, unanswerable or wrongheaded question such as "Does
Wiktionary04
That being the case, we should naturally choose to contemplate mu from morning to night, forgetting everything.
Wiktionary05
Consequently, though mu is mindlike, the likeness to individual consciousness cannot be pushed very far.
Wiktionary06
The monk posed to Chaoi-chou a question: Does a dog have a buddha nature or not?" Chao-chou, without a moment's hesitation, answered, “Mu." (Translated as "No.")
WiktionaryUsage Notes
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