A monk asked, "What is this sword that cuts a hair that falls on it?" Ummon answered, "A patriarch."
Zen and Zen Classics, Vol.2, R.H. Blyth; p.134
Discussion:
Many Masters have been recorded as giving an answer to this question. The sword that the monk is referring to is Zen, also known in Chinese Zen as the Sword That Kills, also known in the Japanese tradition as The Sword That Makes Alive Again. The monk is asking what this sword "is", what the nature of the sword is. Ummon's answer is one of his more coherent.
This is not to say that a patriarch is any more or any less than a shit stick.
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