Chan Guan Ce Jin

L'Aiguillon pour Franchir la Barrière Chan

Introduction

The Chan Guan Ce Jin (禪關策進, often translated as "The Goad to Pass Through the Chan Barrier" or "The Chan Whip Anthology") is a Chan practice manual compiled by the master Yunqi Zhuhong (雲棲祩宏, 1535–1615), better known as Great Master Lianchi (蓮池大師). First published in 1600 during the Ming dynasty, this work is an anthology of excerpts from Chan literature, organized as a progressive guide for the practice of sudden enlightenment.

Yunqi Zhuhong is a complex and fascinating figure in late Chinese Buddhism: although revered as the eighth patriarch of the Pure Land school, he was also an accomplished Chan master and a tireless scholar. The Chan Guan Ce Jin reflects this dual affiliation: it is a Chan practice manual, but its pragmatic approach and its emphasis on sincere practice bear the mark of Pure Land spirituality.

The title evokes the image of a goad (ce, 策) used to urge the ox forward—a metaphor for the vigorous effort required to pass through the barrier (guan, 關) of awakening. The text is designed as a tool to stimulate practice, energize the practitioner, and help overcome obstacles on the path.

Yunqi Zhuhong (1535–1615)

Yunqi Zhuhong was born into a scholarly family in Hangzhou. He studied the Confucian classics in his youth, but after the death of his wife and parents, he resolutely turned to Buddhism. He became a monk at the age of thirty-two and, after years of wandering and study, settled on Mount Yunqi (雲棲山), from which he took his name.

He devoted himself to both Chan practice and Pure Land devotion, seeking to reconcile these two paths. He advocated sincere and rigorous practice, rejecting both the purely intellectual Buddhism of scholars and the excesses of superstitious popular practices. He was also a great liturgical reformer, recodifying the rituals of the Yujia Yankou (瑜伽燄口, Rite of the Flaming Mouth for Hungry Ghosts) and the Shuilu Fahui (水陸法會, Universal Liberation Water and Land Ceremony), which remain in use today.

The Chan Guan Ce Jin is one of his most enduring works. It has served as a Chan practice manual throughout China and Japan since its publication and continues to be used by contemporary practitioners.

Structure and Content

The Chan Guan Ce Jin is organized into several sections that follow the practitioner's progression:

Éveil de la foi (發心) : pourquoi pratiquer le Chan — extraits de maîtres sur l'urgence de l'éveil
Choix d'un maître (師承) : l'importance de rencontrer un véritable enseignant
L'effort vigoureux (精進) : instructions sur la pratique intensive, citations des grands maîtres
Les obstacles (障礙) : reconnaître et surmonter les difficultés sur la voie
L'éveil (悟道) : descriptions de l'expérience d'illumination chez les anciens
La confirmation (印證) : la transmission et la vérification de l'éveil

Each section is a mosaic of carefully selected quotations, ranging from the Chan masters of the golden age of the Tang dynasty (Huineng, Mazu, Linji, Dongshan) to Song and Yuan dynasty masters. Zhuhong adds his own commentaries, linking the quotations together and applying them to the practitioner's situation.

Historical Importance

The Chan Guan Ce Jin occupies a unique place in Chan literature. It is not a collection of kōan like the Gateless Gate or the Book of Serenity, but a true practical guide—a "spiritual warrior's manual" that prepares the practitioner to face the challenges of the path.

Its synoptic approach—gathering sources from different eras and schools—makes it an ideal introduction to Chan literature as a whole. It played an important role in the transmission of Chan to Japan during the Ming period, and Japanese masters like Hakuin Ekaku (1686–1769) drew inspiration from it.

In our time, the Chan Guan Ce Jin remains remarkably relevant: its emphasis on sincere practice, its pragmatism, and its rejection of sterile intellectual speculations speak directly to contemporary practitioners, whether they are Chan, Zen, or simply seeking an authentic spirituality.

Original Text / 原文

Taishō Tripiṭaka 大正新脩大藏經禪關策進 Taishō Tripiṭaka, Electronic version, No. 2024 禪關策進大正新脩大藏經數位版, No. 2024 禪關策進明袾宏輯 Electronic Version by CBETA XML TEI P5 correctionsorig correctionsTaisho correctionsCBETA correctionsCBETA.liyi correctionsCBETA.maha correctionsCBETA.ting correctionsCBETA.pan correctionsCBETA.sy 1卷 T.48.2024 財團法人佛教電子佛典基金會 (CBETA) service@cbeta.org Available for non-commercial use when distributed with this header intact. 2025-10-07 14:04:57 +0800 大正新脩大藏經 Text as provided by Mr. Hsiao Chen-Kuo, Text as provided by Anonymous from USA 蕭鎮國大德提供，北美某大德提供原書標點【CB】【大】【甲】 CBETA CHARACTER CB00416 composition [竺-二+帚] normalized form 帚 U+7B92 U+F01A0 CBETA CHARACTER CB01403 composition [囗@力] U+361E U+F057B CBETA CHARACTER CB04210 composition [拚-ㄙ+云] U+F1072 CBETA CHARACTER CB05270 composition [拚-ㄙ+ㄊ] U+22B35 U+F1496 CBETA CHARACTER CB05480 composition [歹*覃] U+2DBA0 U+F1568 English Chinese (Traditional) CWRay Chou 周邦信P4 to P5 conversion by p4top5a.py, intended for publication CW (ed

Original Text

The Chan Guan Ce Jin is preserved in the Taishō Canon:

English translation: Jeffrey L. Broughton, *The Chan Whip Anthology*, Oxford University Press.

Original text in Classical Chinese (文言) · Source: CBETA T48n2024 · Taishō Canon, public domain · Mokusan presentation, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0