T​h​e​ ​G​a​t​e​l​e​s​s​ ​B​a​r​r​i​e​r​ ​o​f​ ​C​h​a​n

The Gateless Barrier of Chan, fully titled The Gateless Barrier, was composed by Wumen Huikai of the Southern Song and compiled by his disciple Zongshao. The work is traditionally said to have been completed in the first year of Shaoding. It develops around forty-eight gong’ans such as Zhaozhou’s Dog, Baizhang’s Wild Fox, and Juzhi Raising a Finger. Each case usually includes the main gong’an text, Wumen’s commentary, and a verse. The language is sharp and forceful, emphasizing the critical pivot of immediate investigation by the practitioner. The title “gateless” not only indicates that there is no fixed gate through which to enter, but also suggests the Chan approach of using doubt, barriers, and direct assumption of responsibility to break through conceptual understanding. This item is an image edition of The Gateless Barrier, useful for research on Chan gong’ans, the compilation of Song dynasty Chan texts, and the transmission of Chinese books in East Asia.