The Gateless Gate無門關
- Date
- 1228
- Also called
- Wumen guanMumonkanThe Gateless Barrier
- Language
- Classical Chinese
- Catalogue
- Taishō T.2005
- Used in
- LinjiRinzai
Forty-eight koan cases compiled by Wumen Huikai in 1228, each with his comment and a verse.
Each case is a short exchange or story from earlier teachers, followed by Wumen’s comment and a verse. The first case is Zhaozhou’s dog; Wumen calls the answer’s single word, wu (無), the one barrier of the school.
Read it
Originals free of copyright are linked in full. Translations are listed with where to find them; those still in copyright are not reproduced. How we decide.
The Chinese text in the Taishō edition.
Both koan collections in one volume, with Sekida’s commentaries.
Translation with commentary by the head of the Sanbō Kyōdan.
Translation with commentary by the co-founder of the Diamond Sangha.
Stories told in this text
Deshan Xuanjian had spent his life on the Diamond Sutra. He carried a commentary on it. When he heard that teachers in the south were saying that this very mind is Buddha, a teaching outside the scriptures, he set out to refute them.
After years in hiding, Huineng came to Faxing monastery in Guangzhou, where the master Yinzong was lecturing on the Nirvana Sutra. A flag was moving in the wind. One monk said the wind was moving. Another said the flag was moving. They went back and forth.
The monks of the east and west halls at Nanquan’s were arguing over a cat. Nanquan picked it up and said: if any of you can say a word, I will spare it; if not, I will cut it in two. No one answered. He cut the cat in two.
Sources
Checked 2026-11-04. Rights statuses checked 2026-10-30 for Canada; terms differ by country. Report an error.