Sometimes these exchanges were said to produce instant enlightenment (called “satori” in Japanese).
In Japan, the Zen monk Ummon engaged his student, Tozan, in the following dialogue:
“Where do you come from?”
“Sato Village.”
“In what temple were you last summer?”
“Hoji Temple, south of the lake.”
“When did you leave there?”
“The twenty-fifth of August.”
Then Ummon said: “I should hit you three times, but today I will forgive you.”
The next day, Tozan came to Ummon and asked: “Yesterday you ‘forgave’ me three blows. But I do not know why you thought me wrong.”
Ummon responded: “You are good for nothing! You just wonder from one monastery to another!” At this moment, hearing Ummon’s words, Tozan was enlightened.