32A Non-Buddhist Questions the Buddha外道問佛

世尊因外道問。不問有言。不問無言。世尊據座。外道贊歎云。世尊大慈大悲。開我迷雲。令我得入。乃具禮而去。阿難尋問佛。外道有何所證贊歎而去。世尊云。如世良馬見鞭影而行。

A non-Buddhist came to the Buddha and said, "I'm not asking about words. I'm not asking about silence."

The Buddha just sat there.

The man bowed deeply. "Your kindness is boundless. You've blown away my clouds of confusion and let me through." Then he made his formal bows and left.

Afterward Ananda asked the Buddha, "What did that man realize, that he praised you and left like that?"

The Buddha said, "A good horse runs at the shadow of the whip."

Wumen's Comment 無門曰

阿難乃佛弟子。宛不如外道見解。且道外道與佛弟子相去多少。

Ananda was the Buddha's own disciple, yet his insight fell short of the outsider's. So tell me: how far apart are the outsider and the disciple?

Verse 頌曰

劍刃上行
冰稜上走
不涉階梯
懸崖撒手

Walking the blade of a sword,
running a ridge of ice.
No steps, no ladder.
At the cliff's edge, let go with both hands.

Pointer

The Buddha here is the historical Shakyamuni, and Ananda is his closest attendant, the stock figure for the earnest insider who follows along and just misses it. A "non-Buddhist," literally an "outsider," belongs to a rival school, the last person expected to win. His challenge is airtight: not asking about words, not asking about silence, both exits sealed. The Buddha neither answers nor breaks the frame; he just sits, and the sitting is the entire reply. The outsider catches it on the spot and leaves grateful, while the disciple has to ask afterward what just happened, which is the sting. "A good horse runs at the shadow of the whip" means the real student needs no blow, a hint is plenty. The case quietly asks how far apart the outsider and the disciple really are, given who saw and who didn't.