Mumonkan / Wumenguan · CASE 9
Great Penetrating Wisdom Excellence
The Gateless Gate
Case
A monk asked Master Kōyō Rang: “The Buddha Great Penetrating Wisdom Excellence sat at the place of awakening for ten kalpas. The Buddha-Dharma did not appear before him, and he did not attain buddhahood. What was happening then?” Rang said, “That question is quite to the point.” The monk said, “Since he was sitting at the place of awakening, why did he not attain buddhahood?” Rang said, “Because he does not become a buddha.”1
Verse
Settling the body—how can it compare with settling the mind? Once the mind is settled, the body gives no concern. If body and mind are both completely settled, why should an immortal still need to be made a marquis?
Footnotes 2
- The episode alludes to the Lotus Sutra's account of Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū (Chinese 大通智勝). The case quotes the paradox of a buddha whose awakening does not manifest for ten kalpas; Rang's answer repeats rather than solves it. ↩
- 老胡, “old foreigner” or “old barbarian,” is irreverent Zen diction. In context it most naturally points to the Indian Buddha named in the case, though the epithet can elsewhere designate Bodhidharma. ↩
About this version and its sources
- Full source citation
- CBETA T2005: T48n2005_p0294a14–p0294a23.
- Method
- Direct critical-edition translation from the cited received base text. Source claims, hagiography, uncertainty, and unresolved readings remain identified in the notes and project record.
- Editorial uncertainty
- Independent philological and reader review remain pending.
- Rights
- Project translation © Tulsa Zen Center Critical Edition contributors. Source text is cited by edition; redistribution policy requires final organizational approval.
- Revision identifier
- 4e3fcdd48781
Mumon's commentary
Mumon said: I allow the old foreigner to know; I do not allow him to understand. If an ordinary person knows, that person is a sage. If a sage understands, that person is ordinary.2