恁いん麼も

noun

this sort; this way

Archaic Zen term derived from Song-era Chinese colloquialism. Used to refer to something in a demonstrative manner, akin to 'like this' or 'in this manner'.

• 禅ぜんの問もん答どうで「恁いん麼も」と示しめすことがある。

  In Zen dialogues, one may indicate 'this way' with the word 恁麼.

noun

what sort; what kind

Archaic Zen term used interrogatively, meaning 'what kind of' or 'what sort of'. Rare and limited to historical Zen texts.

• 「什いん麼も物ぶつか」と問とう禅ぜん僧そうの言こと葉ばが記き録ろくに残のこる。

  Records preserve a Zen monk's question, 'What sort of thing is it?' using 什麼.