The original meaning of this term is to pick up and handle something with the fingers. In Ch'an/Son/Zen however， it has a couple of special meanings: The first is the picking up with the fingers a stick of incense， or flower or other object by a master during the course of a lecture. The second is "to raise up for instruction and analysis，" referring to the raising of old gong-an or earlier Buddhist scriptural passage as a means for instruction. The passage is then analyzed by the teacher for its deeper content.