Gateless Gate 47

205
Gateless Gate (Mumonkan, Wumenguan) #47
Doushuai's Three Barriers

Personnel and Date

• DOUSHUAI Congyue (Tosotsu Jûetsu, 1044-1091, 20th gen), disciple of Yunan "Zhenjing" Kewen (1025-1102)
Date guess: ca. 1081

Case

Master Doushuai Congye set up three barriers and asked his students:
“The purpose of making one's way through grasses and asking a master about the subtle truth is only to realize one's self-nature. Now, you venerable monks, where is your self-nature at this very moment?"
“When you have attained your self-nature, you can free yourself from life-and-death. How will you free yourself from life-and-death when the light of your eyes is falling to the ground (when you are about to die)?"
“When you have freed yourself from life-and-death, you know where to go. After your four elements have decomposed (after you have died), where will you go?”

Wumen's Comment

If you can say three turning words about these barriers, you will be the master wherever you may be, in close contact with the real essence in all situations.
If you have not yet reached this stage, gulping down your food will fill you up quickly, while chewing well will make it more difficult to become hungry again.

Wumen's Verse

In one consciousness, we see the whole of eternity;
Eternity is nothing other than right now.
If you see through this one consciousness at this moment,
You see through the one who is seeing right now.

Hotetsu's Verse Hotetsu's Verses on Koans

Appendix: Alternate Translations

Case

Master Doushuai Congye set up three barriers and asked his students: “The purpose of making one's way through grasses and asking a master about the subtle truth is only to realize one's self-nature. Now, you venerable monks, where is your self-nature at this very moment?" “When you have attained your self-nature, you can free yourself from life-and-death. How will you free yourself from life-and-death when the light of your eyes is falling to the ground (when you are about to die)?" “When you have freed yourself from life-and-death, you know where to go. After your four elements have decomposed (after you have died), where will you go?”

Aitken: The priest Tou-shuai set up three barriers in order to examine his students: “You make your way through the darkness of abandoned grasses in a single-minded search for your self-nature. Now, honored one, where is your nature? When you have realized your self-nature, you are free of birth and death. When the light of your eyes falls, how are you free? When you are free of birth and death, you know where to go. When your four elements scatter, where do you go?”

Cleary: Master Tushuai Yue set up three barriers to question students: 1) Brushing aside confusion to search out the hidden is only for the purpose of seeing essence. Right now where is your essence? 2) Only when you know your own essence can you be freed from birth and death. When you are dying, how will you be free? 3) When you are freed from birth and death, then you will know where you are going. When the elements disintegrate, where do you

Guo Gu: Master Congyue of Tuṣita Monastery established three barriers to question students: Pushing aside the weeds to investigate the mysterious is only for the purpose of seeing the nature. Right now, where is this nature? If you see your self-nature, you are liberated from birth and death. Yet when the light of your eyes goes out, how will you be liberated? If you are liberated from birth and death, you will know where you will go [after you die]. When the four elements disperse, where will you go?

Hinton: Master Buddha-Land Mountain established three gateways to test his students: “Open wild origins and penetrate depths of dark-enigma: that’s the only way to see your original-nature. So tell me, you monks here now today: your original-nature, where is it? Know your original-nature in and of itself, know it perfectly, and you’re free of life and death. So tell me: at death, when the radiance of your eyes is falling away, how can you get free of life? If you’re free of life and death, perfectly free, you know where you dwell in the end. So tell me: the four elements you are — earth, air, fire, water — when they scatter away, where is it you’re going?”

Low: Tosotsu’s Etsu Osho set up three barriers for his disciples: You leave no stone unturned to explore profundity, simply to see into your true nature. Now, I want to ask you, right at this moment, where is your true nature? If you realize your true nature, you are free from life and death. Tell me, when your eyesight dims in the final moments, how can you be free from life and death? When you free yourself from life and death, you should know where you are going. So when the four elements disintegrate, where will you go?

Sekida: Tosotsu Etsu Oshō set up three barriers for his disciples: 1. You leave no stone unturned to explore profundity, simply to see into your true nature. Now, I want to ask you, just at this moment, where is your true nature? 2. If you realize your true nature, you are free from life and death. Tell me, when your eyesight deserts you at the last moment, how can you be free from life and death? 3. When you set yourself free from life and death, you should know your ultimate destination. So when the four elements separate, where will you go?

Senzaki: Tosotsu erected three barriers and made the monks pass through them. The first is, in studying Zen, the aim is to see your own true nature. Now, where is your true nature? Secondly, when you realize your own true nature, you will be free from birth and death. Now, when the light is gone from your eyes and you become a corpse, how can you free yourself? Thirdly, when you free yourself from birth and death, you should know where you are. Now your body separates into the four elements. At this moment, where are you?

Shibayama: Master Juetsu of Tosotsu made three barriers to test monks. To inquire after the Truth, groping your way through the underbrush, is for the purpose of seeing into your nature. Here, now, where is your nature, Venerable Monk? If you realize your own nature, you certainly are free from life and death. When your eyes are closed, how can you be free from life and death? If you are free from life and death, you know where you will go. When the four elements are decomposed, where do you go?

Verse

In one consciousness, we see the whole of eternity; /Eternity is nothing other than right now. /If you see through this one consciousness at this moment, /You see through the one who is seeing right now.

Aitken: One nien sees eternity; /eternity is equal to now; /if you see through this one nien /you see through the one who sees.

Cleary: In an instant of thought, survey measureless eons; /The affairs of measureless eons are the very present. /Right now see through this instant of thought, /And you see through the person now seeing.

Guo Gu: A single moment thoroughly reveals countless kalpas. /All the countless kalpas are just this moment. /If right now you see through this single moment, /This seeing through is (to see though) the one who sees.

Hinton: A single thought sees everything across measureless kalpas, everything happening across measureless kalpas alive today, /alive here now looking through that single thought, looking clear through here now today into the very bottom of things.

Low: In one moment ts eternity; /Eternity is just this moment. /If you see through this moment’s moment, /You see through the one who sees through this moment.

Sekida: This moment’s thought sees through eternal time; /Eternal time is just this moment. /If you see through this moment’s thought, /You see through the man who sees through this moment.

Shibayama: This one instant, as it is, is an infinite number of kalpas. /An infinite number of kalpas are at the same time this one instant. /If you see into this fact, /The True Self which is seeing has been seen into.