Mumonkan / Wumenguan · CASE 10
Seizei, Alone and Poor
The Gateless Gate
Case
A monk said to Master Sōzan: “I, Seizei, am alone and destitute. I beg you, Master, give me relief.” Sōzan said, “Ācārya Seizei!” Seizei answered. Sōzan said, “You have drunk three cups of Seigen's white-family wine, yet you still say your lips have not been moistened.”1
Verse
Poor as Fan Dan, spirited as Xiang Yu. Though he has no means at all, he dares compete in wealth.2
Footnotes 2
- 闍梨 is a shortened transcription of Sanskrit ācārya, “teacher” or “preceptor,” used here as a form of address. “White-family wine” renders 白家酒 literally because its more specific historical reference is not secure. ↩
- Fan Dan (also written Fan Ran) was proverbial for poverty; Xiang Yu, the military rival of the Han founder, for imposing courage and force. The verse makes Seizei materially penniless yet audaciously competitive in “wealth.” ↩
About this version and its sources
- Full source citation
- CBETA T2005: T48n2005_p0294a24–p0294b04.
- 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
- 8a6e8892beb8
Mumon's commentary
Mumon said: Seizei missed the opening. What sort of mental working is this? Sōzan had the eye and deeply discerned the capacity that approached him. Even so, tell me: where did Ācārya Seizei drink the wine?