Ch'anism: The Philosophy of Silence

[Shi Da Dao]

'It was the principle of the Ch'an Masters to teach their disciples only through personal contact. For the benefit of those who did not have opportunity for such contact, however, written records were made of the sayings of the Masters, which were known as yu lu (recorded conversations). This was a practice that was later taken over by the Neo-Confucianists. In these records, we often that when a student ventured to ask some question about the fundamental principles of Buddhism, he would often be given a beating by his Ch'an Master, or some quite irrelevant answer. He might, for example, be told that the price of a certain vegetable was then three cents. These answers seem very prardoxical to those who are not familiar with the purpose of Ch'anism. But this purpose is simply to let the student know that what he asks about is not answerable. Once he understands that, he understands a great deal.'

Fung Yu-Lun: A Short History of Chinese Philosophy - Page 257.