“When his teacher, Shitou, found him sitting silent and still, ‘doing zazen’ as we are wont say, Shitou asked, ‘You there, what internal activity are you undertaking?’
‘Wholly not doing,’ Yaoshan answered.
‘Reflecting?’ pressed Shitou. ‘That’s merely sitting idle.’
‘If I were sitting idle,’ Yaoshan replied, ‘that would actually be doing something.’
Shitou asked, ‘You speak of not doing, but not doing what?’
‘Even a thousand sages couldn’t tell,’ said Yaoshan.”
