Kyogen Mounts the Tree

Kyogen said: `Zen is like a man hanging in a tree by his teeth over a precipice. His hands grasp no branch, his feet rest on no limb, and under the three another person asks him: `Why does Bodhidharma come to China from India?'

`If the man in tree does not answer, he fails; and if he does answer, he falls and loses his life. Now what shall he do?'