Koan Collection – Mumonkan – The Gateless Gate – The Bridge to the true Self!
Mumonkan - The Gateless Gate
Zen makes the mind the foundation and the gateless barrier the entrance. Now, how do you get through this gateless barrier (Mumonkan)? It is said that whatever comes from outside can never be your own. Whatever is acquired by external circumstances must ultimately perish. However, this statement itself makes waves when there is no wind at all. Cuts through the flawless skin.
Once you pass through the Gateless Gate, you are free!
Mumonkan - The bridge to the true Self!
If you try to understand it through someone else's words, it's like chasing the moon with a stick, or scratching your shoe, even though it's your foot that itches! What do such people have to do with the truth?! Anyone who is determined will push themselves forward on the path unsustainably, despite all the dangers. And then the devil won't stop him and the saints and wise men in East and West will fear for their lives. If you are not determined, it is like catching a glimpse of a horse galloping past behind a window: in an instant it is over.
- Zen Master Joshu's Dog
- Zen Master Hyakujo's Fox
- Zen Master Gutei Raises a Finger
- The Western Barbarian with No Beard
- Zen Master Kyogen's "Man up in a Tree"
- The Buddha Holds Out a Flower
- Zen Master Joshu's "Wash Your Bowl"
- Keichu the Wheelmaker
- Daitsu Chisho Buddha
- Zen Master Seizei Is Utterly Destitute
- Zen Master Joshu Sees the Hermits
- Zen Master Zuigan Calls His Master
- Zen Master Tokusan Holds His Bowls
- Zen Master Nansen Cuts the Cat in Two
- Zen Master Tozan's Sixty Blows
- When the Bell sounds
- Cho the National Teacher Gives Three Calls
- Zen Master Tozan' s "Masagin"
- Zen Master Nansen's "Ordinary Mind Is the Way"
- The Man of Great Strength
- Zen Master Ummon's "Kanshiketsu"
- Kashyapa's "Knock down the FlagPole"
- Think Neither Good Nor Evil
- Zen Master Fuketsu's Speech and Silence
25. Zen Master Kyoan's Dream
26. Two Monks Roll Up the Blinds
27. Zen Master Nansen's "Not Mind, Not Buddha, Not Things''
28. Zen Master Ryutan Blows Out the Candle
29. The Sixth Patriarch's ''Your Mind Moves''
30. Zen Master Baso's ''This Very Mind Is the Buddha''
31. Zen Master Joshu Investigates an Old Woman
32. A Non-Buddhist Philosopher Questions the Buddha
33. Zen Master Baso's "No Mind, No Buddha"
34. Zen Master Nansen's "Reason Is Not the Way"
35. Seijo's Soul Separated
36. When You Meet a Man of the Way
37. Zen Master Joshu's Oak Tree
38. A Buffalo Passes the Window
39. A Mistake in Speaking
40. Tipping Over a Water Bottle
41. Bodhidharma's Mind-Pacifying
42. The Girl Comes out of Meditation
43. Zen Master Shuzan' s Shippei
44. Zen Master Basho's Staff
45. Hoen's "Who Is He"
46. Proceed On from the Top of the Pole
47. Zen Master Tosotsu' s Three Barriers
48. Zen Master Kempo's One Road
Mumon's Postscript - The Gate of Emancipation
The sayings and deeds of the Buddha and the patriarchs have been preserved in their original form. The author did not add anything superfluous, he removed the lid from his head and exposed his eyeballs. Their direct implementation is required. It should not be sought by others. If you are a man of knowledge, you will immediately grasp the point at the slightest mention of it. There is no gate through which you can go; There are no stairs you can climb. You pass the checkpoint with your shoulders straight without asking the guard for permission.
Remember Gensha's saying: “No-gate is the gate of emancipation; No-meaning is the meaning of the Man of the Way." And Hakuung says, "Of course you know how to talk about it, but why can't you go through this simple, specific thing?" However, all this talk is like making a mud cake with milk and butter. Once you pass the Mumonkan, you can fool Mumon. If not, you are betraying yourself. It is easy to know the Nirvana mind, but difficult to achieve the wisdom of differentiation. When you realize this wisdom, peace and order will reign over your land.
Soju's Verse - Oryu's three Barriers
How do my hands resemble the Buddha's hand? As I felt for the pillow at the back of my head, I involuntarily let out a loud laugh and found that my entire body was originally in one hand.
How are my legs like a donkey's legs? Before I get out, I'm already on my way, stalking freely across the four seas and facing backwards, astride Yogi's three-legged creature. Everyone has their karma relationship. Everyone expresses their original nature before their thoughts arise. Nada broke his bones and gave them back to his father. Did the fifth patriarch have a father?
The Buddha's hand, the donkey's legs, the karma relationship: Not the Buddha, not the Way, not Zen; No wonder Mumonkan is so steep. It triggers the deepest hostility among Zen monks. Mumon recently lectured at the Zuigan Temple, judging ancient and modern masters. He cut off all thoughts of men and sages. And dragons roared awake from their hibernation.
Myoko's Epilogue - Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma came from the West, was not bound by words and referred directly to the human spirit. He advocated recognizing one's own nature and becoming Buddha. Saying “directly show” is already meaningless. “Becoming a Buddha” isn’t exactly confusing. It was goalless from the start; How can there be a checkpoint? The grandmotherly kindness caused a lot of criticism. Muan adds one more to create Case 49. We have a little complication here. Look through it with your eyes open.
Amban's 49th Case - Stop! Stop! Don't try to explain it!
The old master Mumon designed 48 cases and judged the koans of old teachers. He is like a cake seller who wants to open the customer's mouth and stuff it with his cakes until the customer can neither swallow nor expel them. Anyway, now Amban wants to cook an extra one on Mumon's hot stove and add it to the forty-eight and offer it to you Mumon's way. I wonder where the master would put his teeth in? If someone can swallow it immediately, he will radiate the Buddha light and make the earth shake. If he cannot do this, the current forty-eight plus this one will turn into the burning sands of hell. Say quickly! Say quickly!
The Case
The scriptures say, “Stop! Stop! Don't try to explain it. The law mysteriously transcends thought!”
Amban's Comment
Where does the law come from? How could it be mysterious? What if it is spelled out? It wasn't just Bukan who was talkative; Shakyamuni himself was the original babbler. This old fellow has created a lot of phantoms and left thousands of generations stumbling around in entanglements, unable to stick their heads out. As far as the present case of Mumon is concerned, it cannot be scooped up or steamed down. Some confused people may ask, “What is the conclusion of all this?”
Amban puts his ten fingernails together and says, “Stop! Stop! Don't try to explain it; the Law mysteriously transcends thought!" And in a flash he draws a small circle over the two words "transcends thought" and shows it by saying: "The Five Thousand Volumes of the Holy Scriptures and Vimalakirti's 'One Gate Only' “They’re all here.”
Amban's Verse
If someone tells you, “Light is fire,” move your head and don’t answer. A devil knows the way of another devil; If there is one question, everything is clear.