Mukudoku: No Reward Whatsoever
An aikido student who also practices the "way of tea" told me this story about Mukudoku 無功徳 : "I had my weekly tea ceremony class yesterday, and, as usual, there was a scroll hanging from the wall of the alcove. Generally, these are chosen for the occasion, though sometimes they are more general, but in the spirit of the way of tea. "This one said ' Mukudoku .' "My teacher tried to explain what it means, but it's one of those difficult Eastern concepts that's hard to express in English, especially if your English isn't fluent. Later, she emailed us with a fuller explanation: "There is a famous dialog between Bodhidharma, the first patriarch of the Zen school of Buddhism, and Emperor Wu. The Emperor Wu said to Bodhidharma, “I am a faithful Buddhist, I built many temples and made various offerings to monks. What kind of reward can I expect?” To this, Bodhidharma answered, ' Mukudoku - no reward whatsoever .' ...