Gateless Gate 39

146
Gateless Gate (Mumonkan, Wumenguan) #39
Yunmen and a Mistake in Speech

Personnel

• YUNMEN Wenyan (Ummon Bunen, 864-949, 13th gen), disciple of Xuefeng
• SIXIN Wuxin (Shishin Goshin, 1044-1115, 20th gen), disciple of Huitang

Case (Sato)

A monk once asked Unmon [Yunmen], “The radiance serenely illuminates the whole vast universe...”
Before he could finish the first line, Unmon suddenly interrupted, “Aren't those the words of Chôsetsu Shûsai [Zhang Zhuo]*?”
The monk replied, “Yes, they are.”
Unmon said, “You have slipped up into the words.” Afterwards, Zen Master Shishin [Sixin] brought the matter up and said, “Tell me, at what point did he slip?”

*Zhang Zhuo (Chôsetsu Shûsai, ca. 860-920?) was a poet and lay disciple of SHISHUANG Qinzhu (807-888).

Wumen's Comment (Sato)

If, as regards this case, you have grasped Unmon's [Yunmen's] lofty and unapproachable activity and how the monk slipped up in his words, you are worthy to become a teacher of men and heavenly beings. If you are not yet clear about it, you have not even saved yourself.

Wumen's Verse (Sato)

Angling in a swift stream –
Those greedy for bait will be caught;
If you open your mouth even a bit,
Your life will be lost.

The Zhang Zhuo poem (Shibayama)

The radiance serenely illumines the whole universe;
the ignorant, the wise, all beings are in my abode.
When no thought rises, the whole is revealed;
if the six sense organs move even a little, it is obscured by clouds.
If you cut off your ignorance your ailment will increase;
if you look for the truth you are wrong.
Living in accord with things of the world you have no obstructions;
Nirvana and life-and-death are like colors in a dream.

Aitken's Comment

Usually the questioner is allowed full scope to ask a question or make a presentation — though the rug may be yanked thereafter, of course. Yünmen’s interruption in this case is quite instructive. By the time the monk reached the end of Changcho’s long poem, he might have been full of pride about his appreciation of the lofty words. “Can’t let this go on,” Yün-men probably thought. “Stop right there!”
The question for teachers of Yün-men’s time, and for us today, has been how to help people avoid getting lost in the beautiful words — manufacturing all kinds of ignorant elaborations on the Dharma. Ta-hui (Dai’e) [Dahui Zonggao, 1089-1163] burned the printing blocks of The Blue Cliff Record, edited by his teacher Yüan-wu, “because he observed that the enthusiasm for the beauty and eloquence of expression was hindering people from directly experiencing enlightenment on their own.” Ssu-hsin (Shishin) takes up the case two hundred years later and asks, “Tell me, at what point did the monk misspeak?” That’s the key question. Some students say that the monk misspoke when he said, “The radiance serenely illumines the whole universe.” Everything was complete before he spoke. That’s true, of course. It is also true of all the thousands of kōans, all the volumes of the Tripitaka, not to mention this teishō. Colossal misspeaking. Just “The radi…” — and you have given yourself away completely. Whose words are those, anyway! Some students say that the monk misspoke when he replied in the affirmative to Yün-men’s question. Quotations can obscure the vivid fact itself. I would find it distracting if someone quoted Wordsworth when I was admiring a rainbow. But if the monk had replied in the negative, would that have been correct? After all, they were indeed Chang-cho’s words. I would dare to respond to Yün-men, “The thrush said it, the Melodious Laughing Thrush.” He would certainly have a riposte. “Farfetched!” I think he would say.

Zen Master Shushan's Verse (Cleary)

Questioning, answering, free from partiality:
How can an iron wall or silver mountain be penetrated?
Conceding and denying depend on the time; he says "You're trapped in words,"
Eventually causing a thousand ages to stir the wind of lament.

Zen Master Songyuan's Verse (Cleary)

Clearly he depicts it for you to see:
The meaning is on the hook, not in the pan.
Even if a stone man can open his mouth,
He still doesn't realize he's been fooled by his tongue.

Cleary's Comment

If you can see the answer to Sixin's question, at what point the monk got trapped in words, you can learn to use words without getting trapped. Was the monk already trapped in words, only to be exposed by the master? Or was the monk trapped in words by the master's question? Either way, he found out how easily it can happen, "causing a thousand ages to stir the wind of lament" (Shushan).

Guo Gu's Comment Low's Comment Sekida's Comment Senzaki's Comment Seung Sahn's Comment

The crow calls, “caw, caw.” The dog barks, “woof, woof.” Human beings open their mouths and many words appear. Big Mistake. Do you understand Yúnmén’s mistake? Go drink tea. 1. “The brilliance of the Buddha silently illuminates the whole universe. . .” what does this mean? 2. Why did Yúnmén say, “You have slipped up in your speaking?” 3. Where is the place where this monk has slipped up in his speaking?

Shibayama's Comment Yamada's Comment Hotetsu's Verse Hotetsu's Verses on Koans

Appendix: Alternate Translations

Case

Sato: A monk once asked Unmon, “The radiance serenely illuminates the whole vast universe...” Before he could finish the first line, Unmon suddenly interrupted, “Aren't those the words of Chôsetsu Shûsai?” The monk replied, “Yes, they are.” Unmon said, “You have slipped up into the words.” Afterwards, Zen Master Shishin brought the matter up and said, “Tell me, at what point did he slip?”

Aitken: A monk said to Yün-men, “The radiance serenely illumines the whole universe...” Before he had finished the line, Yün-men interrupted him and asked, “Aren’t those the words of Chang-cho?” The monk said, “Yes, they are.” Yün-men said, “You have misspoken.” Later, the master Ssu-hsin took up this matter and asked, “Tell me, where did the monk misspeak?”

Cleary: A monk asked Yunmen about the line, "Radiant light silently illumines the universe." Before the monk had even finished, Yunmen abruptly said, "Aren't these the words of the schblar Zhang Zhuo?" The monk replied, "Yes." Yunmen said, "You're trapped in words." Later, Zen master Sixin brought this up and said, "Now tell me, where did the monk get trapped in words?"

Guo Gu: A monk asked Yunmen (about the poem), “The brilliant and quiescent luminosity pervades everywhere, (like sands in the) Ganges.” Before his sentence was finished, Yunmen interrupted, “Are these not the words of the scholar Zhang Zhuo?” The monk replied, “Yes.” Yunmen said, “Failed!” Later, Sixin picked this case up, “How did the monk’s words fail?”

Hinton: A monk asked Cloud-Gate Mountain: “Radiant brilliance silently illuminates this Cosmos vast as Ganges sands...” Before he could finish, Gate suddenly broke in and said: “Isn’t that the first line of Simpleton-Extent’s enlightenment poem?” “Yes.” “Exactly! You’ve got it all wrong!” Two hundred years later, Master Mind-Demise returned to this, saying: “Okay, right now: speak up! Tell me! Where was that monk’s mistake? How is it he got it all wrong?”

Low: A monk said to Ummon, “The radiance serenely illumines the whole universe. .. .” Before he could finish the line, Ummon interrupted him and asked, “Aren’t those the words of Chosetsu?” The monk said, “Yes, they are.” Ummon said, “You missed.” Later the master Shishin took up this matter and asked, “Tell me, how did the monk miss?”

Sekida: A monk said to Ummon, “The brilliance of the Buddha silently illuminates the whole universe . . .” But before he could finish the verse, Ummon said, “Aren’t those the words of Chōsetsu the Genius?” “Yes, they are,” answered the monk. “You have slipped up in your speaking,” Ummon said. Afterward, Shishin Zenji brought up the matter and said, “Tell me, at what point did the monk err in his speaking?”

Senzaki: A monk said to Ummon, “The brilliance of Buddha illuminates the whole universe—” Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the master: “You are quoting the poem of Cho, the candidate, are you not?” The monk answered, “Yes.” Then the master said, “You are off the track.” More than one hundred years after Ummon’s passing, Master Shishin told his students about this and said, “Tell me, monks, at what point did the monk go off the track?”

Shibayama: A monk once wanted to ask Unmon a question and started to say, “The light serenely shines over the whole universe.” Before he had even finished the first line, Unmon suddenly interrupted, “Isn’t that the poem of Chosetsu Shusai?” The monk answered, “Yes, it is.” Unmon said, “You have missed it!” Later Master Shishin took up this koan and said, “‘Now tell me, why has this monk missed it?”

Verse

Sato: Angling in a swift stream – / Those greedy for bait will be caught; / If you open your mouth even a bit, / Your life will be lost.

Aitken: A line is cast in the waters; / the greedy will be caught; / if your mouth opens just a bit, / your life is completely lost.

Cleary: He casts his hook in the swift current; / One greedy for the bait bites. / As soon as the seam of his mouth opens, / He's lost his natural life.

Guo Gu: Dropping a fishhook into a gushing stream; / The greedy (fish) gets caught. / As soon as it opens its mouth, / Life is lost!

Hinton: Cast a hook into such wild cascades, / and whoever’s greedy takes the bait. / That promise you are: even begin to / speak, and it scatters back into ruins.

Low: A line is cast in the swift stream; / The greedy will be caught; / If your mouth opens just a bit, / You will lose your life completely.

Sekida: A line is cast in the rapids, / The greedy will be caught. / Before you start to open your mouth, / Your life is already lost!

Senzaki: When a fish meets the fish-hook / If it is greedy, it will be caught. / When its mouth opens / Its life is already lost.

Shibayama: A line is dropped in a swift stream; / Greedy for the bait, he is caught. / If you open your mouth only a little, / Your life is lost!