The younger brother admitted, "Perhaps you are at the point where sleep can be practice, but I am not at that level yet. it doesn't work for me."

"What is it that doesn't work?" asked the older brother.

The younger one answered, "My mind hasn't settled down yet."

"And where does your mind want to settle down to?" inquired the elder.

When the younger brother heard these words, his mind became clear and radiant. He had been trying to force his mind to settle down, but the energy he expended only made him tense. His brother's words made him realize that his effort had been in vain; it was disturbing rather than settling his mind. He let go of his forced determination and his mind settled by itself, becoming clear and radiant.

If, in a particular activity, you can settle your mind to a point where it does not move, that is good. If your mind is silent and unmoving in all activities and every situation, then it is truly settled. In such a mind-state, how do you think you would react if someone approached you with a sharp knife, intending to kill you? You would recognize that someone was approaching you with a knife, but you would not feel fear. For the truly settled mind, there is no sense of fear because such a mind lacks the idea of a person or self that can be killed.

If I took a knife and slashed water, would you be afraid? If you have entered the gate of Ch'an, a person attacking you with a knife would disturb your mind no more than would a person slashing water. If you feel fear when you are in a life and death situation, then you can be sure you have not entered the gate of Ch'an.