Gateless Barrier: Zen Comments on the Mumonkan

by Zenkei Shibayama and Sumiko (Translator) Shibayama, Zenkei; Kudo

Book Overview

For more than seven centuries the Mumonkan has been used in Zen monasteries to train monks and to encourage the religious development of lay Buddhists. It contains forty- eight koans , or spiritual riddles, that must be explored during the course of Zen training. Shibayama Zenkei (1894-1974), an influential Japanese Zen teacher and calligrapher who traveled and lectured throughout the United States in the 60s and 70s, offers his own commentary alongside...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570627266
• ISBN13: 9781570627262
• Release Date: December 2000
• Publisher: Shambhala
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Solid Foundation for Zen Study

No, please don't burn this book after reading it (as proposed in review #1, above) that would show a great misunderstanding of Zen and a total lack of respect for this book -- a splendidly helpful manifestation (form) of the unmanifest(formless). Zen is seeing, knowing and living Reality in all everyday dealings -- including growing intellectually and spiritually from the reading and intensive study of a superb book like this one. A practical suggestion: read this book slowly and truly spend time on each "case" presented. As you find the sentences and paragraphs which truly lift the veil and shine truth directly into your eyes -- use a red pen to mark off the individual servings of this brilliantly prepared spiritual dinner. Only this way will you be able to return again and again and easily enjoy the entire feast. For those who will never have the opportunity to work personally with a Zen master, this is a very satisfying alternative.

more prattle

i mostly concur with previous reviewers. this is sadly my n'th zen book, but still i find it as tasty as some of the best, even after only 2 pages. when will the madness stop?

get it if you can

I have not found a Zen book to compare to it. Even though you cannot put it in words, Shibayama can guide your practice. Its interesting to me that at least two others are carrying this around too...

Most thought-provoking

I bought this book about eight years ago and it has accompanied me ever since. If you want to deepen your understading of Zen, give this book a try. You will definitely not regret it.

Look no further.

It is perhaps appropriate that this incredible book by a lineal patriarch is out of print and hard to find, because its elusiveness reflects most clearly that only a combination of luck and effort can bring you closer to truth. Accomplishment requires practice. The author expresses over and over that a mere intellectual reading will do nothing. The concepts contain an energy which can light you. It is the very highest sort of book, in that those who need nothing of it have outgrown books altogether