Three Gates of Tosotsu
Tosotsu built three barriers and made the monks pass through them. The first barrier is studying Zen. In studying Zen the aim is to see one's true nature. Now where is your true nature?
Secondly, when one realizes his own true nature he will be free from birth and death. Now when you shut the light from your eyes and become a corpse, how can you free yourself?
Thirdly, if you free yourself from birth and death, you should know where you are. Now your body, separates into the four elements. Where are you?
Mumon's Comment: Whoever can pass these three barriers will be master wherever he stands. Whatever happens about him he will turn into
Zen.
Otherwise he will be living on poor food and not enough of that to satisfy himself.
An instant realization sees endless time.
Endless time is as one moment.
When one comprehends the endless moment
He realizes the person who is seeing it.
兜率三關
兜率悦和尚、 設三關問學者、 撥草參玄、
只圖見性、 即今上人性在甚處。
識得自性、
方脱生死、
眼光落時、
作麼生脱。
脱得生死、
便知去處、
四大分離、
向甚處去。
無門曰: 若能下得此三轉語、
便可以隨處作主、
遇縁即宗。
其或未然、
麁飡易飽、
細嚼難飢。
一念普觀無量劫
無量劫事即如今
如今見破箇一念
見破如今見底人
NB: 見 is a surrogate for Morohashi Daikanwajiten #34974,
an archaic character missing from Plane 1 of Unicode.
A Zen koan from the classic collection The Gateless Gate.
The Chinese original was
transcribed and proofread by IRIZ from
Taisho shinshu daizokyo, volume 48, #2005,
and formatted and converted to Unicode by gn0sis.