The Ch'an approach is like a sharp, double-edged sword. It can both help and hurt. The people who have good karmic roots can be helped by the methods of Ch'an, and they can use the methods to attain realization. On the other hand, people with serious karmic obstructions may interpret the teachings incorrectly and then suffer because of their erroneous understanding. That is why it is necessary to study Buddhadharma and practice with a good teacher, so that you do not stray down the wrong path.

Many people misunderstand the Ch'an approach. Someone once said to me, "Shih-fu, I just read a couple of kung-ans. They are terrifying. A monk asked a master if he should repeat the Buddha's name, and the master replied that if he repeated the Buddha's name even once he ought to gargle for three days. In another story a monk asked what the Buddha was. The master replied that he had never heard of such a thing. So the monk asked him about Sakyamuni, and the master said that if he had run into him he would have beaten him to death and thrown his body to the dogs. It sounds like we are listening to the words of crazy people!"