Gateless Barrier: Zen Comments on the Mumonkan

by Zenkei Shibayama

For more than seven centuries the Mumonkan has been used in Zen monasteries to train monks and to encourage the religious development of lay Buddhists. It contains forty- eight koans, or spiritual riddles, that must be explored during the course of Zen training. Shibayama Zenkei (1894-1974), an influential Japanese Zen teacher and calligrapher who traveled and lectured throughout the United States in the 60s and 70s, offers his own commentary alongside the classic text. The Gateless Barrier remains an essential text for all serious students of Buddhism.

Genres: Zen, Buddhism, Philosophy, Religion, Japan, Nonfiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Zenkei Shibayama (柴山 全慶 Shibayama Zenkei, 1894 - 1974), a former Abbot of Nanzen-ji, was a Japanese Rinzai master well known for his commentary on the Mumonkan. One of his better-known students is Keido Fukushima, abbot of Tōfuku-ji. Shibayama also taught at Otani University and was the head abbot of the entire Nanzenji Organization, overseeing the administration of over five hundred temples. Due to a number of lecture tours he undertook to the United States in the 1960s, and the translation of several of his books into English, Shibayama was a significant contributor to the establishment of Zen in America.

(from WIkipedia)

Reviews

[Scott]

This book required a complete departure from how I normally read and the way that I think about things. Of course this sounds cliche, but is genuinely true from the outset. Boolean logic, describing something as is or is-not, and any other logical principles are of absolutely no use to the reader. Considering this is a purpose of going through zen training to begin with, that should come as no surprise. If you think that's a bunch of crap (and I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking so): don't bother trying to read it, it won't be worth your time. Specifically I picked the book up for the purpose of seeing what, if anything, there WAS to this contrary manner of thinking, particularly since my "discriminating" mind has served me well thus far.

I can't say I'd recommend the book to anyone, but not because it was in any way lacking. Quite the opposite in fact. This translation was exceptional (I read this in tandem with another translation of the Mumonkan--"The Gateless Gate" by Koun Yamada--and much preferred this translation). Idiomatic expressions are explained and ambiguous translations explicitly stated as such (E.g. "Good question!" could also be "That's it; you have it." depending on the version of the koan that is being read. But the *important* are well discussed in the following teisho (lessons) for each). The lessons on each koan contain all necessary background/contextual information so that even laypersons such as myself get full benefit of each koan.

Content-wise it contains 48 chapters, each of which has a koan, a lesson by Unmon or "No-Gate" (the book's eponymous title), and a succinct poem by Unmon combining the koan and lesson. There are vastly many more koan than appear here, but these are the ones chosen by Unmon he felt most effective in the teaching of his students. Zenkei Shibayama adds his own commentary to each of these to make them accessible to modern westerners. I feel he succeeded well.

Read the first chapter and if it looks like something you'd enjoy mulling over, you'd probably like the entire text. If it seems like nonsensical drivel or just isn't your thing: don't bother, it would just be a waste of your time.

[Belle Meade School]

294.34

[Drdrdrwx]

i want to read this book but it's way too expensive to obtain..

[James]

Some good nuggets in there.

[John]

This is a collection of Zen koans with commentary by Zenkei Shibayama. For those unfamiliar with this kind of material it would probably be mystifying and maybe even annoying, but anyone who already loves this kind of stuff should rush right out and get it. Beautiful writing by Shibayama, very complete and written at a meditative pace. Loved it.

[Jan van Leent]

Excellent translation of this collection of classic Zen Koans.

The commentary is very helpful.

Recommended for study of Zen koans

Also recommended as five star rating:

- Yamada Koun Roshi, Gateless Gate - Translation with Commentary. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1979

- Robert Aitken, The Gateless Barrier - The Wu-men Kuan (Mumonkan), New York: North Point Press, 1991

[Jonn]

Not a book you ever really finish, but something in there will inevitably make you consider your experience differently. Zenkei Shibayama's commentary is extensive and in-depth, including a history of many of the teachers mentioned in the koan stories.