No-Mind is the Way

Kosei shed tears upon seeing Bensei, whom he deeply respected. He had longed to meet Bensei and had great expectations for their meeting. While such people have pure hearts, their expectations make it difficult to seek the true Way. Seeing the earnestness in his attitude, Bensei helped correct his direction.

‘Are you seeking Buddha or seeking the Way?’

Today, many temple-goers have a misunderstanding. They believe that when enlightenment is attained, all thoughts cease. Because they hear that all afflictions disappear, they think even the realm of knowing disappears. Even many well-studied monks think this way. However, that state is what vegetables experience. The mind doesn’t stop. Nothing in this world can be stopped. Rather, when you erase the desire to stop what cannot be stopped, you can exist in greater stillness.

Yet all impermanent phenomena in the universe maintain a certain constant state. Whether it’s metal, earth, or plastic, their essential nature remains unchanged while filling everything. It’s like water remaining still as water while simultaneously creating waves as water. Most people get caught up in wondering whether the mind is the water or the waves, rising and falling with this question. Bensei first points to this.

‘Water is waves. Are you seeking Buddha or seeking the Way? Are you seeking the state of enlightenment or its flowing movement?’

When Kosei couldn’t understand, he admitted, “My wisdom is shallow, and I cannot comprehend what you’re saying. What is the difference between Buddha and the Way?”

To truly understand this, one must attain enlightenment. These words are both incredibly simple and profoundly difficult.

The moon reflects in a lake. We see the moon’s reflection and passing clouds. The moon in the lake isn’t the real moon – it’s a reflection. When we wash our faces, we look in the mirror and see our reflected image. You are caught in the mirror. The forms of mind we think about appear because there is a mirror reflecting them. You try to find the mirror within the images it creates. You try to find the mirror within the mirror. But you cannot find the mirror within the mirror. First, you must recognize that these are reflections in the mirror. When you realize it’s a mirror, you can simultaneously see both the mirror and the images it creates. When you clearly realize this and let go of even the mind that seeks ‘form’ and ‘mirror,’ there isn’t even the realm of language and expression that discusses ‘mirror’ and ‘form.’

The Buddha you think of, the Buddha you speak of, is not Buddha. It is a Buddha created by you, formed by you. Yes, the Buddha you speak of is merely your Buddha – by you, for you, of you.

When Kosei asked, “Why is no-mind the Way?”

The answer came: “The Way originally has no mind, yet no-mind is called the Way. If you realize no-mind, then no-mind itself is the Way.”

When you break free from your current state arising from mental activity, that itself is the Way, and that state is Buddha. Because this state encompasses both mental activity and states, it means there’s no need even to name it as a ‘state.’