Passing Through the Gateless Barrier: Koan Practice for Real Life

By Guo Gu

The classic thirteenth-century collection of Zen koans with one of the most accessible commentaries to date, from a Chinese Zen teacher. Gateways to awakening surround us at every moment of our lives. The whole purpose of koan ( gong'an , in Chinese) practice is to keep us from missing these myriad opportunities by leading us to certain gates that have traditionally been effective for people to access that marvelous awakening. The forty-eight koans of the Gateless Barrier (Chinese- Wumenguan ; Japanese- Mumonkan ) have been waking people up for well over eight hundred years. Chan teacher Guo Gu provides here a fresh translation of the classic text, along with the first English commentary by a teacher of the Chinese tradition from which it originated. He shows that the koans in this text are not mere stories from a distant past, but are rather pointers to the places in our lives where we get stuck-and that each sticking point, when examined, can become a gateless barrier through which we can enter into profound wisdom.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1611802814
• ISBN13: 9781611802818
• Release Date: May 2016
• Publisher: Shambhala
• Length: 440 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.9" x 8.9"