On Zen: Have you any God?

Following is an excerpt from a samvaad (dialogue) session with Acharya Prashant.

Joshu went to the Hermit and asked, “What’s up? What’s up?” The Hermit lifted up his fist and Joshu said, “Water is too shallow to enter here and went away”. Joshu visited the Hermit once again, a few days later and said, “What’s up? What’s up?” The Hermit raised his fist again then Joshu said, “Well given, well taken, well killed, well saved” and he bowed to the Hermit.

Acharya Prashant (AP): Right-living, Wisdom, Spirituality, Zen are all about a non-reactionary way of living. So, Joshu asks the hermit, “What’s up?” He isn’t parlance as indicated. It means, “Have you any Zen?” Now, Zen is not an object. Zen is not a part of ‘duality.’ The answer to the question that asks, Have you any Zen, can neither be ‘yes’ nor ‘no’ as such. When Hermit raises his fist, it is inferior to remaining silent. It comes across as a reaction to Joshu’s question.

The situation is such that Joshu’s question actually becomes a provocation, a stimulus to which the Hermit reacts, this is not really the way of Zen. The question demanded no answer…