There is a joke about a constable who was escorting a monk under arrest.
有一则古代笑话说，一个差人押解一个和尚。
Every day the constable always checked that “monk,” “bag,” “documents” and “I” were all present before taking to the road.
每次差人都要等“和尚”、“包袱”、“公文”、“我”点齐了才会上路。
One evening, the monk wormed his way into the confidence of the constable. He thanked him
for trouble he had taken in escorting him on the journey and put out the money to entertain him with food and wine.
一天晚上，和尚和差人套近乎，感谢差人一路上辛苦相陪，并出钱买好酒好肉招待。
Flushed with drink the constable carefully unlocked the monk’s fetters.
差人酒酣耳热，在兴头上解开了和尚的枷锁。
Wine cup succeeded wine cup until the constable was as drunk as mud. The monk and the owner of the inn then carried him to a room to sleep it off.
酒一杯接着一杯，差人烂醉如泥，和尚和店人将他抬到了房间歇息。
In the middle of the night the monk shaved the constable’s head, exchanged clothes with him and crept away.
半夜，和尚剃掉了差人的头发，换上差人的衣服，悄悄地逃走了。
The constable woke in the morning, felt for his bag and the documents and rehearsed: “Right. Bag, documents, still here.”
差人第二天早上醒来后，摸了摸包袱、公文，念叨说：“咦，包袱、公文还在。”
Then, suddenly, pale with fright: “But where’s the monk got to?”
但突然之间大惊失色：“和尚哪里去了？”
He looked round the inn several times. Not half a shadow was to be found. Worried out of his mind he scratched his head.
他围着房子转了几圈，哪有半个影子，急得他口干舌燥，一个劲地挠头皮。
Scratching itself meant nothing, but what he scratched was bald!
这一挠不打紧，倒挠了个光头！
The constable felt his head and then shouted: “Oh, the monk’s still here! But where have ‘I’ got to?”
差人抱着头大叫：“啊，和尚还在！那么，‘我’又跑到哪儿去了？”
Where have “I” got to is one of the greatest concerns of Zen.
“我”到哪儿去了？这就是禅学最为关心的一个问题。
Zen advocates “Purifying the mind and seeing one’s nature.” That is, finding one’s original mind and true nature; finding the original “I.”
禅主张“明心见性”，就是要找到本心本性，找到本来的我。
Throughout our lives, we must keep honestly asking ourselves: is the me of now the real me? Where has the original me gone?
在生活中，我们要经常扪心自问：现在的这个我，真的是“我”吗？那个原来的我到底跑到哪里去了呢？
中文大意：
有一则古代笑话说，一个差人押解一个和尚，每次差人都要等“和尚”、“包袱”、“公文”、“我”点齐了才会上路。
一天晚上，和尚和差人套近乎，感谢差人一路上辛苦相陪，并出钱买好酒好肉招待。
差人酒酣耳热，在兴头上解开了和尚的枷锁。
酒一杯接着一杯，差人烂醉如泥，和尚和店人将他抬到了房间歇息。
半夜，和尚剃掉了差人的头发，换上差人的衣服，悄悄地逃走了。
差人第二天早上醒来后，摸了摸包袱、公文，念叨说：“咦，包袱、公文还在。”
但突然之间大惊失色：“和尚哪里去了？”
他围着房子转了几圈，哪有半个影子，急得他口干舌燥，一个劲地挠头皮。
这一挠不打紧，倒挠了个光头！
差人抱着头大叫：“啊，和尚还在！那么，‘我’又跑到哪儿去了？”
“我”到哪儿去了？这就是禅学最为关心的一个问题。禅主张“明心见性”，就是要找到本心本性，找到本来的我。
在生活中，我们要经常扪心自问：现在的这个我，真的是“我”吗？那个原来的我到底跑到哪里去了呢？
( 摘自: 吴言生著《CHINESE ZEN A PATH TO PEACE AND HAPPINESS》，
TONY BLISHEN 译，Better Link 出版社，纽约 )
