The Emperor Goyozei was studying Zen under Gudo.
The emperor asked Gudo, "In Zen this very mind is Buddha. Is this correct?"
Gudo answered, "If I say yes, you will think you understand without understanding. If I say no, I would be contradicting a fact which many understand quite well."
At another time, the emperor asked Gudo, "Where does the enlightened man go when he dies?"
"I do not know," Gudo answered.
"Why don't you know?" the emperor asked.
"Because I have not died yet," Gudo replied.
The emperor respected Zen and old Gudo very much. He even permitted Gudo to wear his hat in the palace in the winter to help keep him warm.
When Gudo was over eighty he used to fall asleep in the midst of his lecture, and the emperor would quietly retire to another room so his beloved teacher might enjoy the rest his aging body needed.
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