The Gateless Gate: Baso's "No Mind, No Buddha" [33rd Case]
A monk asked Baso, "What is the Buddha?"
Baso answered, "No mind, no Buddha."
Mumon's Comment
If you understand this, you have finished studying Zen.
Mumon's Verse
Present a sword if you meet a swordsman;
Don't offer a poem unless you meet a poet.
When talking, tell one-third of it;
Don't divulge the whole at once.
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Commentary and questions: What is a buddha, really? To my knowledge, I've never seen or met an actual buddha in regular life. Could I have missed a buddha if he were standing right next to me? Is the buddha a deity, or a real person that once lived long ago? A buddha sounds like something extraordinary or special, which at once becomes something at odds with the teachings of Zen. If a person is noticed as a buddha, then they are most certainly not a buddha.
Here Baso says "No mind, no Buddha", which at once reveals a potential solution to this situation. No buddha can exist without mind to make it real, so killing a buddha is simply letting go of concepts to begin with. Nothing whatsoever can withstand such a practice. So then what is this mind that we kill the buddha with? Nothing can be found there, either. Mind is not mind, and a buddha is not a buddha.
Submitted February 03, 2020 at 11:06PM by _WanderingRonin_ https://ift.tt/2UodJEG
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