![\"Story](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/81\/2016\/04\/Story-of-Mu.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nI was just given a complementary copy of The Story of Mu<\/a><\/em> written by James Cordova & illustrated by Mark Morse. I got the comp because it includes as an appendix an adaptation of a dharma<\/a> talk I gave (with an interpolated uncredited paragraph written by Melissa Myozen Blacker \u2013 you\u2019ll have to figure out which one it is. And, yes, I can hear some of my friends saying, \u201cthe good one.\u201d), \u201cOn the Utter, Complete, Total Ordinariness of Mu.\u201d<\/p>\n I read the Story of Mu<\/em> is a single sitting. It is a children\u2019s book. And, oh my, I cannot possibly recommend it highly enough. This book is something wonderful.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re not familiar with the Zen koan<\/a> that inspires this children\u2019s book it goes in the version presented in the book, \u201cOne day a student went to see the great teacher Chao-chou and asked, \u201cDoes a dog (like me) have Buddha nature or not?\u201d And Chao-chou said, \u201cMu.\u201d <\/p>\n The word Mu is usually translated as no, or not. But, it can also be rendered as empty. Or, even boundless.<\/p>\n And, yes, I said it is a children\u2019s book. And it is. A perfect gift for any child who wonders.<\/p>\n And speaking of wonder\u2026<\/p>\n If you ever wondered what Buddhism is about, if you ever wondered what Zen points to, if you ever wondered what that koan Mu could possibly mean, James Cordova lays it all out, plain, simple, beautiful.<\/p>\n I read this book and I wept.<\/p>\n James opened his heart and revealed it all.<\/p>\n Plain. Simple. Beautiful.<\/p>\n Your life, and mine. Right here.<\/p>\n Like any book worthy of the title \u201cchildren\u2019s\u201d it is illustrated, beautifully by Mark Morse. A hug to go with the kiss\u2026<\/p>\n James Myosan Cordova is a professor of psychology and chair of the Psychology Department at Clark University, in Worcester, Massachusetts. He is also a teacher in the Boundless Way Zen<\/a> school. And, I\u2019m proud to say, a friend.<\/p>\n Mark Morse is an artist and works as a storyboard and conceptual illustrator at a digital consulting agency.<\/p>\n I encourage you to buy a copy for yourself, and one for a friend, whether younger or not. Doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n