saying
On the Gateless Gate
Zen Comments on the Mumonkan
Text
The gate is called 'gateless' because there is nothing to pass through. A gate implies a barrier, something that divides inside from outside. But in Zen there is no inside or outside. The barrier is your own making—your concepts, your discriminations, your clinging to self. When these fall away, you realize there never was a gate. You have been standing in the open field all along, imagining a wall. Mumon's great compassion is to shout at you: 'There is no gate! Walk through!'
Attribution
By Shibayama Zenkei
From Zen Comments on the Mumonkan
Sources
Zen Comments on the Mumonkan: On the Gateless Gate