Wumen Huikai (;
Wade-Giles: Wu-men Hui-k'ai; ja, Mumon Ekai) (1183–1260) was a Chinese
Chán
Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and ...
(Japanese: Zen) master during China‘s
Song period. He is most famous for having compiled and commentated the 48-koan collection ''
The Gateless Barrier
''The Gateless Barrier'' (Standard Mandarin, Mandarin: 無門關 ''Wúménguān''; Japanese language, Japanese: 無門関 ''Mumonkan''), sometimes translated as ''The Gateless Gate'', is a collection of 48 Zen, Chan (Zen) koans compiled in the e ...
'' (Mandarin: 無門關 Wúménguān; Japanese: 無門関 Mumonkan).
[Aitken, Robert: The Gateless Barrier: The Wu-men Kuan (Mumonkan. North Point Press, 1990, )]
Early life and education
Wumen was born in
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...
. His first master was Gong Heshang.
Wumen received his spiritual education, also called
Dharma transmission in Buddhist teaching, in the
Linji line (Japanese:
Rinzai
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 ...
) of Zen from Zen master Yuelin Shiguan (月林師觀; Japanese: Gatsurin Shikan) (1143–1217). Yuelin gave Wumen the
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-J ...
, a spiritual question, of "
Zhaozhou’s dog", with which Wu-men struggled for six years before he attained realization. After Yuelin confirmed Wumen‘s understanding of it, Wumen wrote his
enlightenment poem:
:A thunderclap under the clear blue sky
:All beings on earth open their eyes;
:Everything under heaven bows together;
:Mount
Sumeru
Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु), also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru, is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritu ...
leaps up and dances.
[
]
Career
In many respects, Wumen was the classical eccentric Zen master. He wandered from temple to temple for many years, wore old and dirty robes, grew his hair and beard long and worked in the temple fields. He was nicknamed "Huikai the Lay Monk".[
Wumen compiled and commentated the 48-]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-J ...
collection ''The Gateless Barrier
''The Gateless Barrier'' (Standard Mandarin, Mandarin: 無門關 ''Wúménguān''; Japanese language, Japanese: 無門関 ''Mumonkan''), sometimes translated as ''The Gateless Gate'', is a collection of 48 Zen, Chan (Zen) koans compiled in the e ...
'' when he was the head monk of Longxiang (Wade-Giles: Lung-hsiang; Japanese: Ryusho) monastery.West Lake
West Lake (; ) is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and natural/artificial islands within the lake. Gushan (孤山) is the largest natural ...
where he hoped to retire quietly, but visitors constantly came looking for instruction.[Yamada, Koun (1979) Gateless Gate: newly translated with commentary by zen master Koun Yamada; Center Publications ]
Work
His teachings, as revealed in his comments in ''Gate of Emptiness'', closely followed those of Dahui Zonggao (大慧宗杲; Wade-Giles: Ta-hui Tsung-kao; Japanese: Daei Sōkō) (1089–1163). The importance of "Great Doubt" was one of his central teaching devices. Wumen said, "... nderstanding Zen isjust a matter of rousing the mass of doubt throughout your body, day and night, and never letting up."[ In his comment on Case 1, Zhaozhou's dog, he called ''mu'' (無) "a red-hot iron ball which you have gulped down and which you try to vomit up, but cannot".][
Wumen believed in blocking all avenues of escape for the student, hence the "gateless barrier". Whatever activity a student proposed, Wumen rejected: "If you follow regulations, keeping the rules, you tie yourself without rope, but if you act any which way without inhibition you're a heretical demon. ... Clear alertness is wearing chains and stocks. Thinking good and bad is hell and heaven. ... Neither progressing nor retreating, you're a dead man with breath. So tell me, ultimately how do you practice?" ][
]
References
Further reading
* Cleary, Thomas (1993) No Barrier: unlocking the zen koan; Aquarian/Thorsons
* Sekida, Katsuki (1995) Two Zen Classics: Mumonkan and Hekiganroku; Weatherhill
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wumen, Huikai
1183 births
1260 deaths
Chan Buddhist monks
Chinese spiritual writers
Chinese Zen Buddhists
Rinzai Buddhists
Song dynasty Buddhist monks
Song dynasty writers
Writers from Hangzhou