CHAO CHOU ASKED NAN CHUAN, "WHAT IS THE TAO?"
NAN CHUAN ANSWERED, "THE ORDINARY MIND IS TAO."
CHAO CHOU THEN ASKED, "HOW CAN ONE APPROACH IT?"
NAN CHUAN REPLIED, "IF YOU WANT TO APPROACH IT, YOU WILL CERTAINLY MISS IT."
"IF YOU DO NOT APPROACH IT, HOW DO YOU KNOW IT IS THE TAO?"
"THE TAO IS NOT A MATTER OF KNOWING, NOR A MATTER OF NOT KNOWING. TO KNOW IS A DELUSORY WAY OF THINKING, AND NOT TO KNOW IS A MATTER OF INSENSIBILITY.
IF ONE CAN REALIZE THE TAO UNMISTAKABLY, HIS MIND WILL BE LIKE THE GREAT SPACE - VAST, VOID, AND CLEAR. HOW, THEN, CAN ONE REGARD THIS AS RIGHT AND THAT AS WRONG?"
UPON HEARING THIS REMARK, CHAO CHOU WAS IMMEDIATELY AWAKENED.