In Zen we often find answers in the midst of questions. Here the monk asks a question about the original state of the mind, clear and pure. For this koan to have any relevance to us, perhaps we could translate it as the monk asking: My mind is filled with thoughts and feelings, how can I make it clean and pure? There is an assumed dichotomy between some clear pure state and thoughts and feelings and mountains and rivers. Originally, however, purity is never found apart from the contents of our minds and lives. Like the duck-rabbit illusion, the two perspectives are composed of the same line. What does it take to see that?