“Do you know there is one who will not accept you?” “If you say so, there must be one who will take another position.” “Who is such another?” demanded the master. “Who is not such another?” retorted the monk. “I will let you talk all you like.” The sermons are generally of this nature, short, and to outsiders unintelligible or almost nonsensical. But, according to Zen, all these remarks are the plainest and most straightforward exposition of the truth. When the formal logical modes of thinking are not resorted to, and yet the master is asked to express himself what he understands in his inmost heart, there are no other ways but to speak in a manner so enigmatic and so symbolic as to stagger the uninitiated. However, the masters themselves are right in earnest, and if you attach even the remotest notion of reproach to their remarks, thirty blows will be instantly on your head. The next are from Ummon.[7.44] Ummon ascended the platform and said: “O you, venerable monks! Don’t get confused in thought. Heaven is heaven, earth is earth, mountains are mountains, water is water, monks are monks, laymen are laymen.” He paused for a while and continued, “Bring me out here that hill of Ansan and let me see!” Another time he said, “Bodhisattva Vasudeva turned without any reason into a staff.” So saying he drew a line on the ground with his own staff, and resumed, “All the Buddhas as numberless as sands are here talking all kinds of nonsense.” He then left the Hall. One day when he came out in the Hall as usual to give a sermon, a monk walked out of the congregation, and made bows to him, saying, “I beg you to answer.” Ummon called out aloud, “O monks!” The monks all turned towards the master, who then came down from the seat. Another day when he was silent in his seat for a while, a monk came out and made bows to him; said the master, “Why so late!” The monk made a response, whereupon the master remarked, “O you, good-for-nothing simpleton!” Sometimes his sermon would be quite disparaging to the founder of his own faith; for he said, “Iśvara, great lord of heaven, and the old Śākyamuni are in the middle of the courtyard, discoursing on Buddhism; are they not noisy?” At another time he said: