When a rebel army swept into a town in Korea,
all the monks of the Zen temple fled except
for the abbot.

The general came into the temple and was annoyed
that the abbot did not receive him with respect.

“Don't you know,” he shouted,
“that you are looking at a man who can
run you through without blinking?”

“And you,” replied the abbot strongly,
“are looking at a man who can be run
through without blinking!”

The general stared at him,
then made a bow and retired.

from Trevor Leggett
The Tiger's Cave
Routledge & Kegan Paul, London (1977), p. 160