Gateless Gate 38

203
Gateless Gate (Mumonkan, Wumenguan) #38
A Buffalo Passes through a Window

Personnel and Date

• WUZU "Qingyuan" Fayan (Goso Hôen, 1024-1104, 20th gen), disciple of Baiyun Shouduan
Date guess: ca. 1086

Case (Shibayama)

Wuzu said, “To give an example, it is like a buffalo passing through a window.
Its head, horns, and four legs have all passed through. Why is it that its tail cannot?”[1]

[1] “It is like a buffalo that passes through a latticed window. Its head, horns, and four legs all pass through. What can’t its tail pass through as well?” (Aitken);
“It is as if an ox had passed through a window screen: Its head, horns, and four hooves have all passed through; why can’t the tail pass through?” (Cleary);
“It is like a water buffalo passing through a window frame. Its horns and hooves have all passed through. What can’t the tail pass through?” (Guogu);
“It’s like a water buffalo passing your window. Nose, horns, four hooves: they all lumber slowly by. But then, how is it the tail never goes past?” (Hinton);
“A buffalo passes through the window. His head, horns, four legs all go through. But why can’t the tail go through also?” (Low);
“It is like a buffalo that get out of his enclosure. His horns, his head, and his hoofs all pass through. Why can’t his tail also pass through?” (Senzaki);
“A buffalo passes by the window. His head, horns, and four legs all go past. But why can’t the tail pass too?” (Sekida);
“For example, it’s just like a great cow passing through a latticed window. Her head, horns, and four legs have passed through. Why is it that her tail can’t pass through?” (Yamada).

Wumen's Comment (Shibayama)

If you can penetrate to the point of this koan, open your Zen eye to it, and give a turning word to it, you will then be able to repay the four obligations above and help the three existences below. If you still cannot do so, work with the tail singleheartedly until you can really grasp it as your own.

Wumen's Verse (Shibayama)

If it passes through, it falls into a ditch;
If it turns back it is destroyed.
This tiny tail,
How extremely marvelous!

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