Ju Jap., lit. “eulogy, song of praise”; in its general meaning ju is the translation of the Sanskrit word gāthā, which refers to the expres sion of Buddhist wisdom in the form of a poem. In Zen the term is predominantly used for the “eulogies” that compilers of kōan collections such as the Pi-yen-lu and the Wu-ment-kuan examples (kōan) in such collections, in which they expressed their insight into the kōan . An other term for ju is juko.
Some of these eulogies are among the most sublime works of Buddhist poetry in the Chinese language, especially the eulogies that the great Chinese Ch’an (Zen) master Hsüeh-tou Ch’ung-hsien (Jap., Setchō Jūken) added to the hundred kōans collected by him. Master Yuan-wu K’o-chin (Jap., Engo Kokugon) made these the basis of his Blue Cliff Record (Pi-yen-lu).
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Ju documents
Books on Ju
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