Mind Is Not Buddha

Nansen said: "This mind is not Buddha. Learning is not the Way."

Nansen was a great disciple of Baso. Baso used the words, "This mind is Buddha," to teach Zen all his life. "This mind is Buddha" became famous, the popular answer to the question, "What is Buddha?" To conceptualise the Buddha without living experience is the worst thing possible in Zen. So Nansen said, "This mind is not Buddha. Learning is not the Way." Nansen beautifully dispells the illusion of words.