Huikai

PersonType Category:Authors of Chinese Works

Other wikis

If the page does not yet exist on the remote wiki, you can paste the tag {{PersonCall}} inside the destination page. But please first make sure you are on the right page. Some wikis have the person page on Person/<COMMONS PERSON PAGENAME>, in which case the page <COMMONS PERSON PAGENAME> needs to be redirected. Ask if you need clarification.

Full Name

Wumen Huikai, 1183-1260 (traditional Chinese: 無門慧開; Wade-Giles: Wu-men Hui-k'ai; Japanese: Mumon Ekai) (1183-1260)

Alternate Spellings:

Affiliation

Song period Ch'an master, 1183-1260

Biographical Data

Wumen compiled the collection of Zen anecdotes and koans, called in Chinese the Wumenguan (The Gateless Gate), in Japanese the Mumonkan. These stories were some of the first and most well known that were translated into English in the 20th century.

Wumen Huikai (traditional Chinese: 無門慧開; Wade-Giles: Wu-men Hui-k'ai; Japanese: Mumon Ekai) (1183-1260) is a Song period Chán (Japanese: Zen) master most famous as the compiler of and commentator on the 48-koan collection The Gateless Gate (Japanese: Mumonkan). Wumen was at that time the head monk of Longxiang (Wade-Giles: Lung-hsiang; Japanese: Ryusho) monastery. Wumen was born in Hangzhou and his first master was Gong Heshang. However, it was Zen master Yuelin Shiguan (月林師觀; Japanese: Gatsurin Shikan) (1143-1217) who gave Wumen the koan "Zhaozhou’s dog", with which Wu-men struggled for six years before he finally attained realization.

Writings

Template:Footer