#gateless barrier

The Koan of Baso’s Very Mind

“If we explain the word ‘Buddha’ we must rinse our mouths for three days afterwards.” – Wumen Huikai Baso’s Very Mind is the 30th case or koan in the Mumonkan, The Gateless Barrier, a collection of koans compiled in the 13th century by Rinzai master Wumen Huikai (known as Mumon Ekai in Japan). The 48 koans in the collection are all sourced from well-known scenes and moments through the history…

Koans! The Dog Koan(podcast)

Daniel and Alicia talk about Zhaozhou’s Dog.

I invited my soon-to-be wife Alicia Marley onto the podcast to talk about the first koan from The Gateless Barrier collection. She has no knowledge of zen koans, so I was wondering if her beginners perspective would help make things clear.

In this episode we talk about the title “The Gateless Barrier” (sometimes called The Gateless Gate, sometimes…

Ludwig Wittgenstein