無門關

Wúménguān

円相, Ensō by 御弓師 二十代 柴田 勘十郎 Shibata Kanjūrō

Block print by Mark T. Morse
無門慧開 Wumen Huikai (1183–1260)
無門關 Wumen guan

Mumonkan, calligraphy by 中原南天棒 Nakahara Nantenbō (1839–1925)

無門關

　　　　　　　　　　　　參學比丘　彌衍　宗紹　編

　　　　一　趙州狗子

　　趙州和尚因僧問。狗子還有佛性。也無。州云無。

【無門曰】

　　參禪須透祖師關。妙悟要窮心路絕。祖關不透。心路不絕。盡是依草附木精靈。且道。如何是祖師關。只者一箇無字。乃宗門一關也。遂目之曰禪宗無門關。透得過者。非但親見趙州。便可與歷代祖師。把手共行。眉毛廝結。同一眼見。同一耳聞。豈不慶快。莫有要透關底。麼將三百六十骨節八萬四千毫竅。通身起箇疑團。參箇無字。晝夜提撕。莫作虛無會。莫作有無會。如吞了箇熱鐵丸。相似吐又吐不出。蕩盡從前惡知惡覺。久久純熟。自然內外打成。一片如啞子得夢。只許自知。驀然打發。驚天動地。如奪得關將軍大刀入手。逢佛殺佛。逢祖殺祖。於生死岸頭得大自在。向六道四生中。遊戲三昧。且作麼生提撕。盡平生氣力。舉箇無字。若不間斷好。似法燭一點便著。

【頌曰】

　　狗子佛性　全提正令　纔涉有無　喪身失命

A monk asked 趙州, Joshu, a Chinese Zen master: "Has a dog Buddha-nature or not?"

➥ 趙州, Joshu, answered: "無 / Mu"

Mumon's comment: To realize Zen one has to pass through the barrier of the patriarchs. Enlightenment always comes after the road of thinking is blocked. If you do not pass the barrier of the patriarchs or if your thinking road is not blocked, whatever you think, whatever you do, is like a tangling ghost. You may ask: What is a barrier of a patriarch? This one word, Mu, is it.

This is the barrier of Zen. If you pass through it you will see Joshu face to face. Then you can work hand in hand with the whole line of patriarchs. Is this not a pleasant thing to do?

If you want to pass this barrier, you must work through every bone in your body, through every pore of your skin, filled with this question: What is Mu? and carry it day and night. Do not believe it is the common negative symbol meaning nothing. It is not nothingness, the opposite of existence. If you really want to pass this barrier, you should feel like drinking a hot iron ball that you can neither swallow nor spit out.

Then your previous lesser knowledge disappears. As a fruit ripening in season, your subjectivity and objectivity naturally become one. It is like a dumb man who has had a dream. He knows about it but he cannot tell it.

When he enters this condition his ego-shell is crushed and he can shake the heaven and move the earth. He is like a great warrior with a sharp sword. If a Buddha stands in his way, he will cut him down; if a patriarch offers him any obstacle, he will kill him; and he will be free in his way of birth and death. He can enter any world as if it were his own playground. I will tell you how to do this with this koan:

Just concentrate your whole energy into this Mu, and do not allow any discontinuation. When you enter this Mu and there is no discontinuation, your attainment will be as a candle burning and illuminating the whole universe.

Has a dog Buddha-nature?
This is the most serious question of all.
If you say yes or no,
You lose your own Buddha-nature.

自知

知者不言，言者不知。《道德經 - 56, 第五十六章》