Whenever Chu-chih was asked a question, he simply raised one finger. One day a visitor asked Chu-chih’s attendant what his master preached. The boy raised a finger. Hearing of this, Chu-chih cut off the boy’s finger with a knife. As he ran from the room, screaming with pain, Chu-chih called to him. When he turned his head, Chu-chih raised a finger. The boy was suddenly enlightened.

When Chu-chih was about to die, he said to his assembled monks: “I received this one-finger Zen from T’ien-lung. I used it all my life but never used it up.” With this he entered his eternal rest.

Niets zo goed als een frisse koan voor het slapengaan. Leren appreciëren met Gödel, Escher, Bach. Voor wie dat nog niet zou gelezen hebben trouwens: essentieel!