True answers?

Here's a question we ought to consider. In Zen, are there true answers to the fundamental questions? If Master A says, "Enlightenment is sudden," and Master B says, "Enlightenment is gradual," it would seem on the surface that one of these individuals must be wrong. If this impression is correct, could we know which one? (Notice that it would be blatantly question-begging to suggest Master A must be right, because he's enlightened. That's exactly what we're asking-- *does* he really have a handle on this? Or is Master B the enlightened one?)

Now, to head off the obvious misunderstandings, let's make one thing very explicit: *Obviously* there is a right answer if the question is, "What did Master A say about enlightenment?" The answer is, "He said it was sudden." Any other answer to *that* question would be wrong. But that's not what I mean. I mean, *is Master A right*, and *how would we know*?

Or is there no question of him getting the answer right... or wrong? (In which case there would seem to be no *conflict* between his teachings and Master B's. Maybe it's something like poetry, where the only judgments are aesthetic?)