The first monk's comment that the flag was moving is a simplistic observation. The second monk, who said that the wind was moving, at least had some scientific knowledge. But the Sixth Patriarch tried to help them reach a higher stage with his remark. I just now talked about the pre-samadhi stage, when the mind was already stationary. The world still exists then, but you sense no distinction between yourself and the world. So it is at this stage that your mind and everything else is unmoving. The Sixth Patriarch was in effect telling the monks they should practice harder, since their perceptions were off the mark. After experiencing the pre-samadhi state, one will realize that it is the mind that moves, not external objects.

Another version of this story appears later. After the Sixth Patriarch, there was a sect of Ch'an called Ts'ao-tung (Soto in Japanese). Ts'ao-Shan, the second patriarch of this sect, had a nun disciple, named Miao-Hsin, whose duties at the temple included taking care of the accomodations of visiting monks and nuns. Once, seventeen monks arrived from faraway Szechuan Province to pay respects to the Second Patriarch. But that night the monks stayed up, talking about Ch'an and the Sixth Patriarch and, in particular, the story about the flag. They talked about flag moving, wind moving, and mind moving. The nun, who was listening, finally said, "Hah! Let's see how long you people can continue moving!" She then retired to her own quarters. Hearing this remark, the monks were very impressed. They felt that the nun's words had great significance. So they marched in single file to ask her to expound on her remark. But she only said, "All this talk about flag moving, wind moving, mind moving? There is nothing moving!" The monks were stunned. They realized that while they eagerly awaited her words, their minds were moving. So they packed up and left in the middle of the night, feeling unqualified even to pay respects to the Second Patriarch. What level of enlightenment does this story indicate?