"I will not say anything."
"Why don't you speak of it?"
"It is not called [Ts'ao-shan]."23
It is said that Tung-shan gave Ts'ao-shan private instruction after this and regarded his capability highly. The anecdote, if we may venture a guess, seems to assert that the Universal cannot be reached through language, and hence he could only converse about his objective, physical form.
After several years of study, Ts'ao-shan decided to strike out on his own, and he announced this intention to Tung-shan. The older master then inquired:
"Where are you going?"
"I go where it is changeless."
"How can you go where it is changeless?"
"My going is no change.”24