The discovery of the collection of koans known as the
Rootless Root, apparently preserved for decades
in the dry upper air of the Western Mountains, has ignited great
controversy in scholarly circles. Are these authentic documents
shedding new light on the teaching of the early Unix patriarchs? Or
are they clever pastiches from a later age, commanding the authority
of semi-mythical figures such as the Patriarchs Thompson, Ritchie and
McIlroy for doctrines which evolved closer to our own era?
It is impossible to say for certain. All sides in the dispute
have made much of an alleged similarity to that venerable classic,
The Tao of
Programming.[165] But Rootless Root is
quite different in tone and style from the loose, poetic anecdotes of
the James translation, focused as it is on the remarkable and
enigmatic figure of Master Foo.
It would be more apposite to seek parallels in the AI
Koans;[166] indeed,
there are textual clues that the author of the Rootless
Root may have redacted certain versions of the
AI Koans. We are also on much firmer ground in
seeking connections with the Loginataka;[167] indeed, it is
quite possible that the unknown authors of Rootless
Root and of Loginataka were one and
the same person, possibly a student of Master Foo himself.
Mention should also be made of the Tales of Zen
Master Greg,[168] though
the Nine Inch Nails references have cast some doubt on their antiquity
and it is thus unlikely that they influenced Rootless
Root.
That the title of the work was intended as a reference to the
Zen classic Gateless Gate
[169]
of Mumon, we can say with fair confidence. There are echoes of Mumon
in several of the koans.
There is considerable dispute over whether Master Foo should
be assigned to the Eastern (New Jersey) School, or the Western
School that grew out of the Patriarch Thompson's epochal early journey
to Berkeley. If this question has not been settled, it is perhaps
because we cannot even establish that Master Foo ever existed! He
might merely be a composite of a group of teachers, or of an entire dharma
lineage.
Even supposing the legend of Master Foo accreted around the
teaching of some a single person, what of his favored student
Nubi? Nubi has all the earmarks of a stock figure, the perfect
disciple. One is reminded of the tales surrounding the Buddha's
favorite follower Ananda. It seems likely that there was a
historical Ananda, but no trace of his actual personality has
survived the euhemerizing process by which the life of the Buddha
was polished into timeless myth.
In the end, all we can do is take these teaching stories on
their own terms, and extract what kernels of wisdom may be found
there.
The redaction of the Rootless Root is a
work in progress, as the source materials present many difficulties
in reconstruction and interpretation. Future versions may include
more stories as these difficulties are overcome.
