Wumenguan

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The Wumenguan ( Chinese  無門 關 , Pinyin Wúmén guān , W.-G. Wu-men kuan ; 無門 關 , Mumonkan ; dt. About the goalless barrier ) is a collection of 48 classical kōan , which in the 13th century towards the end of the Southern Song Dynasty by Master Wumen Huikai ( Chinese  無門 慧 開 , Pinyin Wúmén Huìkāi ; Japanese Mumon Ekai ; 1183-1260), a monk from the Yáng-qí lineage of the Linji zong ( Chinese  臨濟 宗 , Pinyin Línjì zōng , W.-G. Lin-chi tsung ; Japanese Rinzai-shū ) and Dharma successor of Yuelin Shiguan ( Chinese  月 林 師 觀 , Pinyin Yuèlín Shīguān , W.-G. Yüeh-lin Shih-kuan ; 1143-1217). Each koan is supplemented by a commentary and a verse by Wumen. The first print is from 1229.

German translations such as "The Goalless Gate" want to emphasize the paradox of Koans. Translations such as “The Barrier of Master Wumen” or translations that take into account the meaning of wu (mu) in Zen and can help to leave the barrier of dualistic thinking behind are also obvious.

The kōan of Zhaozhou (Joshu) is particularly well-known , where he answers the question “Does a dog have Buddha nature?” With “Wu” ( Mu ), and Zhaozhou's cypress in the garden. But the dialogues of other masters of the Tang period are also represented in Wumenguan, including Yunmen (Ummon), Huangbo (Obaku) and Nanquan (Nansen).

literature

  • Shibayama Zenkei : To the sources of Zen. The famous koans of the master Mumon from the 13th century ; Übers. Margret Meilwes, Bern u. a .: O. W. Barth 1976, ISBN 978-3-502-64564-1
  • Brigitte D'Ortschy, Koun-An: Mumon-Kan - Koan Collection 1-48 . Wolkenverlag 2001.
  • Brigitte D'Ortschy, Koun-An: Mumon-Kan - Zen Teisho 1-48 . Wolkenverlag 2001–2003.
  • Sabine Hübner: The goalless goal . Kristkeitz.
  • Koun Yamada: The Goalless Barrier - Mumonkan . Kösel 2004.