''The Gateless Barrier'' (
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
: 無門關 ''Wúménguān'';
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
: 無門関 ''Mumonkan''), sometimes translated as ''The Gateless Gate'', is a collection of 48
Chan
Chan may refer to:
Places
*Chan (commune), Cambodia
*Chan Lake, by Chan Lake Territorial Park in Northwest Territories, Canada
People
*Chan (surname), romanization of various Chinese surnames (including 陳, 曾, 詹, 戰, and 田)
*Chan Caldwel ...
(
Zen
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
)
koan
A (; , ; ko, 화두, ; vi, công án) is a story, dialogue, question, or statement which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and to practice or test a student's progress in Zen.
Etymology
The Japanese term is the Sino-Jap ...
s compiled in the early 13th century by the Chinese Zen master
Wumen Huikai
Wumen Huikai (; Wade-Giles: Wu-men Hui-k'ai; ja, Mumon Ekai) (1183–1260) was a Chinese Chán (Japanese: Zen) master during China‘s Song period. He is most famous for having compiled and commentated the 48-koan collection ''The Gateless Barri ...
(無門慧開; Japanese: ''Mumon Ekai''; 1183–1260). The title has a double meaning and can also be understood as Wumen's Barrier; the compiler's name, which literally means "No Gate", is the same as the title's first two characters. Wumen's preface indicates that the volume was published in 1228. Each koan is accompanied by a commentary and verse by Wumen. A classic edition includes a 49th case composed by Anwan (pen name for Cheng Ch'ing-Chih) in 1246. Wu-liang Tsung-shou also supplemented the volume with a verse of four stanzas composed in 1230 about the three checkpoints of Zen master Huanglong. These three checkpoints of Huanglong should not be confused with Doushuai's Three Checkpoints found in Case 47.
Along with the ''
Blue Cliff Record
The ''Blue Cliff Record'' () is a collection of Chan Buddhist kōans originally compiled in Song China in 1125, during the reign of Emperor Huizong, and then expanded into its present form by Chan master Yuanwu Keqin (1063–1135; ).K. Sekida, ...
'' and the oral tradition of
Hakuin Ekaku
was one of the most influential figures in Japanese Zen Buddhism. He is regarded as the reviver of the Rinzai school from a moribund period of stagnation, focusing on rigorous training methods integrating meditation and koan practice.
Biograp ...
, ''The Gateless Gate'' is a central work much used in
Rinzai School
The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan E ...
practice. Five of the koans in the work concern the sayings and doings of
Zhaozhou; four concern
Ummon
Yunmen Wenyan (; romaji: ''Ummon Bun'en''; 862 or 864 – 949 CE), was a major Chinese Chan master of the Tang dynasty. He was a dharma-heir of Xuefeng Yicunbr>}
Yunmen founded the Yunmen school, one of the five major schools of Chán (Chinese ...
.
The common theme of the koans of the Wumen Guan and of Wumen's comments is the inquiry and introspection of dualistic conceptualization. Each koan epitomizes one or more of the polarities of consciousness that act like an obstacle or wall to the insight. The student is challenged to transcend the polarity that the koan represents and demonstrate or show that transcendence to the Zen teacher.
Structure and contents
The text was originally prepared by Wumen as a record of his teaching during a monastic training period held at ''Longxiang'' (Soaring Dragon) monastery in the summer of 1228. Wumen selected the 48 koans and commented on and added a verse for each koan. His teachings were transcribed and after the training period were compiled into the collection called the Wumen Guan.
As was customary in China at the time, an edition might have additions of text inserted by a subsequent owner or publisher. The most well known version of the text is from the Japanese wood block edition made from the 1246 manuscript edition that contains the following sections.
* An untitled introduction by Xi Xiang (習巷), publisher of the 1228 edition, written in the self-deprecating style of Zen humor.
* An untitled dedication by Wumen to the Emperor and Empress. Works without such dedications were subject to Imperial censorship as being seditious.
* An untitled foreword by Wumen followed by a verse on the title.
* A table of contents with the title of each koan. However, the koans are unnumbered in both the table of contents and the body of the text and there are no page numbers in the text, so the table of contents is just the list of the koan's titles in order of appearance.
* The 48 koans presented in four parts consisting of (1) a title composed of four characters, (2) the body of the koan beginning with the name of the protagonist of the case, (3) a comment beginning with the words "Wumen says" (無門曰), and a verse beginning with the words "The ode says" (頌曰).
* An untitled afterword by Wumen that ends with the words "The end of the volume the Gateless Checkpoint."
* An appendix believed to be written by Wumen titled "Zen Caveats" or "Zen Warnings"" consisting of twelve one-line aphorisms about Zen practice written in the style of Zen contrariness that points to not falling for either side of dualistic thinking. For example, Zen is known as the school of Buddhism that does not stand on written words and one caveat says, "Neglecting the written records with unrestrained ideas is falling into a deep pit."
* An appendix titled "Huanglong's Three Checkpoints" (黄龍三關) written by Wuliang Zongshou (無量宗壽) in the late spring of 1230 C.E.. Huanglong Huinan (J. Oryo Enan), 1002–1069. was a Zen master who promulgated three questions as one-line koans: "Everyone exists by a particular cause of birth. What is your cause of birth?" "How is my hand like the hand of Buddha?" "How is my leg like the leg of a donkey?" Wulaing wrote four four-line stanzas (Sanskrit ''gathas''). Each of the first three stanzas comments on one of Huanglong's three questions and the fourth stanza is a summation. Wulaing writes that he penned the four verses to thank and commemorate Wumen's recent stay at Ruiyan (瑞巖)(Lucky Cliff) monastery where Wumen was the visiting head teacher for the training period.
* A short untitled addendum by Wuan written on the republishing of the work in the summer of 1245 C.E. Wuan called his brief addition the 49th case. It referred to
Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to a 17th century apo ...
's famous Zen motto: "Not maintaining written words, but pointing directly to the human heart-mind to see one's own nature to become Buddha".
* An undated postscript by Menggong (孟拱) consisting of a very brief story of a military ambassador who used his army as farmers to reclaim a wasteland and thus pacify the region. This appears to be a metaphor for the practice of Zen.
* An appendix by Anwan dated the beginning of summer 1246, presented in the same format as one of the 48 main koans and consisting of (1) an untitled introduction, (2) a title, "Younger Brother's 49th Standard Talk", (3) the body of the case, (4) a comment beginning with "Anwan says", and (5) a verse beginning with "The ode says", followed by Anwan's signature with the place and date of the writing.
Zen Caveats
The Wumen Guan has an appendix titled "Zen Caveats" (禪箴) with one-line aphorisms dealing with Zen practice The word ''zhēn'' (箴) means "caveat", "warning", or "admonition", but it also has the meaning of "needle" or "probe" (as in
acupuncture
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientifi ...
needles) and is sometimes translated as "Zen Needles". As with the main koans, each caveat challenges the Zen student's attachment to dualistic concepts, here those especially related to Zen practice.
: Following the rules and protecting the regulations is binding oneself without rope.
: Moving freely vertically and horizontally without obstruction is the way of outsiders and the nightmare army.
: To preserve the heart mind and to purify it by letting impurities settle to the bottom in quiescence is the perverted Zen of silent illumination.
: Neglecting the written records with unrestrained ideas is falling into a deep pit.
: To be awake and not ignorant is to wear chains and shoulder a
cangue
A cangue () or tcha is a device that was used for public humiliation and corporal punishment in East AsiaJamyang NorbuFrom Darkness to Dawn, site ''Phayul.com'', May 19, 2009. and some other parts of Southeast Asia until the early years of the t ...
.
: Thinking good and thinking evil are the halls of heaven and hell.
: A view of Buddha and a view of Dharma are the two enclosing mountains of iron.
: A person who perceives thoughts as they immediately arise is fiddling with spectral consciousness.
: However, being on a high plateau practicing samadhi is the stratagem of living in the house of ghosts.
: To advance results in ignoring truth; to retreat results in contradicting the lineage.
: Neither to advance nor to retreat is being a breathing corpse.
: Just say, how will you walk?
: You must work hard to live in the present and, to finish, all the more. I do not advise the unfortunate excess of continual suffering.
See also
*''
101 Zen Stories
''101 Zen Stories'' is a 1919 compilation of Zen koans including 19th and early 20th century anecdotes compiled by Nyogen Senzaki, and a translation of ''Shasekishū'', written in the 13th century by Japanese Zen master Mujū (無住) (literally, ...
''
*''
Book of Equanimity
''Book of Equanimity'' or ''Book of Serenity'' or ''Book of Composure'' (Chinese: 從容錄, Cóngróng lù; Japanese: 従容錄, ''Shōyōroku'') is a book compiled by Wansong Xingxiu (1166–1246), and first published in 1224. The book comprise ...
''
*
''The Gateless Gate'' at wikisource
References
External links
The (incomplete) Gateless Gate at ibiblio(archived from the origin
on 2020-12-27)
The (complete) Gateless Gate at Awakening 101edited by Dr. T. Matthes Ciolek; includes links to English-language commentaries on some of the koans, and a bibliography of print materials
*
ttp://www.cbeta.org/result/normal/T48/2005_001.htm The Gateless Gate in original Chineseat the Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association (CBeta), in traditional Chinese characters, as recorded in the Buddhist canon.
The Gateless Checkpoint of the Zen Lineagea complete translation of the 1246 CE manuscript including fore and after appended sections.
by John F. Fisher, Northwestern University, Numen, Vol. 25, Fasc. 1. (Apr., 1978), pp. 65–76.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gateless Gate
Zen koan collections
1228 works