Being asked a question during this class, Master Chen pointed out that he seems to be giving contradictive information from time to time, e.g. to inviting us to ask questions and then saying: ‘You shouldn’t ask that kind of question’.
He then elaborated that Master Hong gave him advice never to listen to student’s questions, as those will keep the mind ‘inside a box’ whereas the answer is likely to be found ‘outside the box’.
Further, we tend to confuse ‘questions’ with ‘assertions’ and ‘discussions’, e.g. asking ‘Is it like X or like Y?’ A meaningful question will lead the teacher to a topic, so he can explain and demonstrate how a movement should be done. An example for that kind of question would be: ‘I don’t know what to to with my bai hui, could you refer to that / can you please show?’ Any other way of asking questions can lead to being trapped inside one’s own thinking and/or not being happy with the given answer.
