What color is the grass？

National Teacher Huizhong (Imperial Preceptor Huizhong), a renowned Tang Dynasty Chan master who studied under Huineng, was revered by three emperors.

One autumn, several scholars visited him. After greetings, Huizhong casually asked:
“What color is the grass beyond the city walls?”
The scholars replied: “Yellow.”

Huizhong summoned a young novice and repeated the question. The boy answered: “Yellow.”
Huizhong turned to the scholars: “You masters of scriptures — how does your insight differ from this child’s?”

Stung but defiant, the scholars retorted: “Then what color is it, Master?”
Huizhong responded: “Do you see the birds in the sky?”
They protested: “Don’t evade the question!”
Huizhong motioned them closer. When they still failed to grasp his meaning, he smiled: “Return another day.”

The next morning, the scholars bowed: “Please enlighten us.”
Huizhong declared:
“To see is to see. If you don’t see,
even describing it won’t make it seen.”
The scholars finally understood, sighing:
“Never have we witnessed such Zen wisdom!”

Philosophical Notes:

Beyond Intellectual Knowledge:

The identical “yellow” answers from scholar and novice exposed scriptural mastery as a barrier to direct perception. Huizhong’s challenge (“how do you differ?”) questioned the value of intellectual Buddhism.

“Seeing Birds” as Koan:

Huizhong’s redirection (“Do you see the birds?”) was a classic Zen trap:

Scholars’ protest >> Clinging to logic

Motioning closer >> Invitation to drop conceptual thinking

“To See Is to See”:

The final teaching crystallized Chan’s essence: Truth isn’t described — it’s experienced directly. Like grass color, enlightenment must be seen, not explained.