Does a dog have the Buddha-nature?

Also playable without Icehouse pieces. Just use any stuff that is lying around.

Edit: Perhaps we can even play a virtual game here on this site. We can utilize numbers and letters to build a koan. Only the bit-commitment will need some simple cryptography.

It's a cute logic game, but I'd take it a lot more seriously if the author didn't try to use Zen to market it. The metaphor is a faulty one; koans are not meant to be "solved" according to some rule.

You are probably right.

His Zen-inspiration is not direct, though. He takes his theme from Gödel, Escher, Bach that uses koans in a similar manner in one part of the book.

You can have a look at the very insightful design history (http://www.koryheath.com/games/zendo/design-history).

Thanks for that. I had forgotten about koans in GEB. I guess that means it's probably time to pull it out again-- always a fun read.

There is only one Buddha Dog -- http://www.chowhound.com/topics/419153

Mu