Mumon's Koan

Koan:

Shuzan held out his staff and said: “If you call this a staff, you oppose its reality.  If you do not call it a staff, you ignore the fact.  Now what do you wish to call this?

Mumon’s Commentary:

If you call this a staff, you oppose its reality.  If you do not call it a staff, you ignore the fact.  It cannot be expressed with words and it cannot be expressed without worse.  Now say quickly what it is.

- From the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate) by Mumon, 1228 A.D.