ILLOGICALZEN
"WhenTomdrinks,Dickgetstipsy."
"WhoistheteacherofalltheBuddhas,past,present,and
future?Johnthecook.""Lastnightawoodenhorseneighedandastonemancut
capers."
"Lo,acloudofdustisrisingfromtheocean,andtheroaring
ofthewavesisheardovertheland."
SometimesZenwillaskyousuchquestionsasthefollowing
:"Itispouringnow;howwouldyoustopit?"
"Whenbothhandsareclappedasoundisproduced:listen
tothesoundofonehand."
"Ifyouhaveheardthesoundofonehand,canyoumakeme
hearittoo?"
"Whenweseeaboutusmountainstoweringhighandseas
fillinghollowplaces,whydowereadinthesacredsutrasthatthe
Dharmaissameness,andthereisnothinghigh,nothinglow?"
HavethefollowersofZenlosttheirsenses?Oraretheygiven
up to deliberate mystification?Have all these statements no
inner meaning, no edifying signification except to produce
confusioninourminds?What isZenthrough theseapparent
trivialitiesandirrationalitiesreallydrivingustocomprehend?
Theanswerissimple.Zenwantsustoacquireanentirelynew
pointofviewwherebytolookintothemysteriesoflifeandthe
secretsofnature.ThisisbecauseZenhascometothedefinite
conclusionthattheordinarylogicalprocessofreasoningispower-
lesstogivefinalsatisfactiontoourdeepestspiritualneeds.
Wegenerallythinkthat"AisA"isabsolute,andthatthe
proposition"Aisnot-A"or"AisB"isunthinkable.Wehave
neverbeenabletobreakthroughtheseconditionsoftheunder-
standing;theyhavebeentooimposing. ButnowZendeclares
thatwordsarewordsandnomore.Whenwordsceasetocorres-
pondwithfactsitistimeforustopartwithwordsandreturnto
facts.Aslongaslogichasitspracticalvalueitistobemadeuse
of;butwhenitfailstowork,orwhenittriestogobeyondits
prop>erlimits,wemustcry,"Halt!"Eversincetheawakeningof
consciousnesswehave endeavoured to solve themysteries of
beingandtoquenchourthirstforlogicthroughthedualismof"A"and"not-A";thatis,bycallingabridgeabridge,bymaking
thewaterflow,anddustarisefromtheearth;buttoourgreat