A monk asked : “Master teacher, Can you please tell me how to answer a question when everything is just nothing.” [1]
Zen master answered : “One can ask and one can answer, Zen says none.” [2]
[1] The original text is “How to use no words and no images to answer a question?”. But here I borrow the previous file about everything is nothing as a reference, so it’s easier to understand the true meaning of this question.
[2] We often think that there must be an answer to a question. And people think the teachings of Zen are complex and difficult. But actually, Zen resides in silence.
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公案14 : 有性無言
僧問：「請和尚離聲色外答！」[1]
中度禪師曰：「木人常對語，有性不能言。」[2]
[1] 聲色，是代指佛經中所謂六根六塵的眼耳鼻舌身意，色聲香味觸法，也就是世間一切因緣事物。問如何離聲色外，就是在考問禪師如果聲色都是虛妄，那要怎麼用言語聲音文字影像來求得禪的真意呢？
[2] 木人指的是就是一般人，未開悟的人。有性指的是已悟道者。所以常言和尚不打誑語，就是指我們每天說三道四，其實都只是空口妄語，人云亦云，真正要悟道絕不能光打嘴皮。禪門悟道，無聲更勝有聲。
註：和尚的梵文是upâdhyâya，原本只指親傳教導出家眾的導師，和尚這個詞則是輾轉音譯後的簡稱。再後來原本尊稱得道高僧的和尚一詞，慢慢的平民化又被用來泛稱出家眾。
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