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The Gateless Gate · 32 of 48

32. A Philosopher Asks Buddha

A philosopher asked Buddha: “Without words, without the wordless, will you tell me truth?”

The Buddha kept silence.

The philosopher bowed and thanked the Buddha, saying: “With your loving kindness I have cleared away my delusions and entered the true path.”

After the philosopher had gone, Ananda asked the Buddha what he had attained.

The Buddha replied: “A good horse runs even at the shadow of the whip.”

Mumon’s comment: Ananda was the disciple of the Buddha. Even so, his opinion did not surpass that of outsiders. I want to ask you monks: How much difference is there between disciples and outsiders?

To tread the sharp edge of a sword, To run on smooth-frozen ice, One needs no footsteps to follow. Walk over the cliffs with hands free.

Echoes elsewhere

Manual of Zen Buddhism · BuddhismZen, I, II, and III.] The monk now called on Hai, and Hai said: "As to that I do not understand." The monk finally returned to the master and told him about his adventure. Said theEssays in Zen Buddhism · BuddhismWhen a monk asks who is the Buddha, the master points at his image in the Buddha Hall; no explanations are given, no arguments are suggested. When the mind is the subject of discou