There are a number of ways to ask questions, not to mention bad ways to ask questions such as, "Have you decided to give up drinking?" This is the tactic of entrapment using a complex question. It is a tricky question that should be set aside. This is basically what the Buddha did.
The Buddha would either answer a question directly, or answer the question with an explanation. He might also ask a counter-question or just refuse to answer the question. We can see here that the Buddha did not answer tricky questions. In Zen, the general tendency, as far as the literature informs us, is to answer the question in such a manner that the concept forming intellect of the questioner is thrown off its trail. It simply has no way to get at the answer except to fully awaken to the One Mind.
This is all well and good. But in modern Zen the tendency is to ask either irrelevant questions, which are out of the context of Zen, or ask questions the questioner should answer himself who is trying to know before knowing. For example, "What is enlightenment like?" It is this kind of question that is troubling for the beginner. Asking questions of this nature, for example, "What is kensho?" or "What does it mean to be before the in and out breath?" are questions that should not be asked. They should be personally answered. Not to personally answer these questions is not only an indication of spiritual laziness but also it tells me that this person is probably suffering from akrasia, a general weakness of the will. Such people know what they must do but for some reason are unable to do it. This doesn't work well in Zen. It is really making a lot of bad karma, also.
Zen, I learned, wants us to ask questions but answer them personally. It also helps to be in retreat away from people. This forces us to find the answers within. When I wanted to know, "What is pure Mind?" I relied upon myself. I looked deep within my self for that answer. I exhausted all my presuppositions one by one. I rode the ox hard looking for this mysterious ox! I had no idea how close I was to pure Mind. Let me say that learning to answer your own questions is what it takes to awaken.
Comments