Mumonkan / Wumenguan · CASE 27
Not Mind, Not Buddha, Not a Thing
The Gateless Gate
Case
A monk asked Nansen, “Is there a Dharma you have never spoken to anyone?” Nansen said, “There is.” The monk asked, “What is the Dharma you have never spoken to anyone?” Nansen said, “It is not mind, not Buddha, not a thing.”
Verse
Repeated explanations diminish your virtue; the wordless truly has merit. Let the blue ocean change as it may— in the end, I will not communicate it for you.1
Footnotes 1
About this version and its sources
- Full source citation
- 不是心佛 — CBETA T2005: T48n2005_p0296b10–p0296b18.
- 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
- c2c7be302fd4
Wumen's commentary
Pressed by this one question, Nansen turned out all his household possessions. He left no small amount of clutter.