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A Zen Master Short-Answer Zen 

Zen Master Un-mun always give short answers to his students’ questions.

That was the way he taught Zen.

Often, he’d use only one word to point to the student’s mind.

So, one day a student asked him, when does a chicken’s egg hatch?”

and Un-mun answered, “Echo.”

Then another student said, “If I kill my parents, I can repent to Buddha. If I kill Buddha and the eminent teachers, to whom can I repent?”

Un-mun answered, “Appearance.”

Another student asked, “Of the three bodied—form body, consciousness body, and Dharma body—which one speaks the truth?”

Un-mun said, “Primary.”

As a result, Un-mun, with his short answer, opened many minds.