Echo's Inquiry About Buddha

One day a young novice said to Patriarch Hogen, "My name is Echo, and I would like to ask Your Reverence what is meant by the name Buddha?" Hogen merely said, "Oh, so you are Echo are you?"

Echo is no ordinary man, and his question is no ordinary question. It is a profound challenge. What if Buddha? Hogen's answer is apropos. Echo is Echo, the buddha, what else? The real Echo is the Buddha, the true reality where there is no selfhood.