Mumonkan / Wumenguan · CASE 39
Unmon's Verbal Fall
The Gateless Gate
Case
A monk asked Unmon, “Radiant light shines silently over worlds countless as river sands—” Before he finished, Unmon said abruptly, “Isn't that a line by the scholar Zhang Zhuo?” “Yes.” Unmon said, “You have fallen into words.” Later, Sixin raised the case: “Tell me, where did this monk fall into words?”1
Verse
Angling in a swift current, the one who craves the bait is hooked. The instant the mouth opens a crack, life is lost.
Footnotes 1
- The opening is a known verse attributed to Zhang Zhuo. Recognition of the source does not itself locate the monk's “fall”; that is precisely Sixin's question. ↩
About this version and its sources
- Full source citation
- 雲門話墮 — CBETA T2005: T48n2005_p0297c21–p0298a01.
- 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
- 1f850dd79aee
Wumen's commentary
If you see Unmon's functioning here, and why this solitary, exposed monk fell into words, you are fit to teach humans and devas. If you do not understand, you cannot even save yourself.