Does a Dog Have Buddha Nature?

The master’s words have neither beginning nor end. When speaking with an enlightened one, our thoughts and concepts feel confined. In conversation with someone like Master Yuquan, words lose their trail.

‘Buddha nature’ means the power to break free from one’s ego, from one’s own world of self. When asked if a dog has Buddha nature, the master answers yes. But when asked about his own Buddha nature, he says no – not because he lacks it, but because he has already transcended it.

We must first notice why the monk asked such questions. Had he simply asked about Buddha nature, the master would have simply answered about Buddha nature. When the answer that dogs have Buddha nature was given, the conversation should have ended there. But the monk tried to reflect the master’s world through his own conceptual framework, attempting to test the master with his notions. The master saw through this clearly and shut it down.

After enlightenment, there is neither Buddha nor sentient being, because one becomes the whole. The world of Buddha includes the world of sentient beings. While existing as parts, we discriminate between Buddha and sentient beings, but for a whole being, such distinctions become unnecessary.

‘Not a Buddha either.’

Not a Buddha because it’s not the Buddha of the monk’s conception. Not the Buddha you know. The Buddha imagined by one who hasn’t awakened is not the real Buddha – it’s merely a Buddha painted in one’s own picture.

When the master says it cannot be thought about or discussed, he means that his state cannot be defined as any particular thing. His world is not partial like the monk’s. Do not try to name or grasp it with partial names, with fragmentary understanding.

What you call nature is not nature – it’s nature as defined by human perspective. You fix your view of the world in place. Everyone makes this unconscious mistake. Nature is not such a world. To truly see nature itself, you must first clearly recognize your own defining and judging mind. When you fully understand and master this, nature will reveal itself to you, removing its veil. When you first remove your own veil, nature will entrust its virgin form to you.