Mumonkan / Wumenguan · CASE 17
The Nan’yō Echū's Three Calls
The Gateless Gate
Case
The Nan’yō Echū called his attendant three times, and the attendant answered three times. The Nan’yō Echū said, “I had thought I was failing you. It turns out that you have been failing me.”
Verse
An iron cangue with no opening—he wants someone to shoulder it. The burden passed to descendants is no small matter. To brace the gate and prop up the house, one must climb a mountain of blades barefoot.
Footnotes 1
- “Nan’yō Echū” conventionally identifies Nan’yō Echū, but the source gives only the title 國師; the personal identification is transmission history, not explicit grammar. ↩
About this version and its sources
- Full source citation
- 國師三喚 — CBETA T2005: T48n2005_p0295a23–p0295b03.
- 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
- a006aa2b9c80
Wumen's commentary
With the Nan’yō Echū's three calls, his tongue fell to the ground. With the attendant's three answers, he spat out a softened light. The teacher was old and lonely at heart, pressing an ox's head down to graze. The attendant still would not accept it. Delicacies do not suit someone already full. Tell me: where did he fail the other? In a peaceful country, talent is prized; in a wealthy family, the children are spoiled.1