A student monk travels the Tibetan mountains in search of legendary master Muka, who is rumored to have discovered the secret of life itself.
After a treacherous journey our heroic student, who goes by the name Wen, finally finds master Muka sitting in a cave.
Student Wen asks master Muka: "What is the secret of life?"
Muka answers: "I cannot tell you."
Wen asks: "Why not?"
Muka replies: "Because the secret of life is something that is outside the domain of Science. It cannot be discovered by Science, nor is it ever a relevant question for Science."
Wen looks at Muka, confused. Muka continues:
"However: if I so much as whisper it in your ear, the movement of air molecules caused by that whisper is now in the domain of Science, and a satisfying explanation has to go back to the movement of my lips, then to the motor signal my brain sends to the lips and eventually the process that implanted the knowledge of the secret of life in my head the first place. And for that process to have a satisfying explanation it must actually involve the secret of life itself, because that is the ultimate cause of the whisper."
Wen looks even more confused.
"So I must keep my lips sealed. I cannot speak the secret of life to anyone. The atoms of my brain must not be influenced by the secret of life in any way. Neither can my actions. For an outsider I am indistinguishable from a person who doesn't know the secret of life."
Wen leaves the cave disappointed, for even if he did learn the secret of life, he must live the rest of his life as if he hadn't.