Mumonkan / Wumenguan · CASE 13
Tokusan Carries His Bowls
The Gateless Gate
Case
One day Tokusan, carrying his bowls, came down to the hall. Seppō asked, “Old fellow—the bell has not rung and the drum has not sounded. Where are you going with your bowls?” Tokusan returned to the abbot's quarters. Seppō told Gantō. Gantō said, “For all his stature, Tokusan has not understood the final word.” Tokusan summoned him and asked, “You don't approve of this old monk?” Gantō privately disclosed his meaning, and Tokusan let the matter rest. The next day Tokusan's address was unlike his usual ones. Gantō clapped and laughed: “How delightful! The old fellow has understood the final word. From now on, no one in the world will be able to do anything with him.”
Verse
Recognize the first word and you understand the final word. The final and the first— neither is this one line.
Footnotes 1
About this version and its sources
- Full source citation
- 德山托鉢 — CBETA T2005: T48n2005_p0294b28–p0294c11.
- 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
- 365d02127c3d
Wumen's commentary
As for the final word, neither Gantō nor Tokusan has even dreamed of it. Examine them closely: they look like a boothful of puppets.1