A monk asked Baso, "What is buddha?"

Baso answered, "Not mind, not buddha."
(The Mumonkan, Case XXXIII)

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“Mind itself it buddha” is the medicine for sick people. “Not mind, not buddha” is the cure for people who are sick because of the medicine.

We think of the buddha as something outside of us. To cure this disease of false humility, Baso gives us the medicine, “Mind itself is buddha.” Then we suppose that we and the buddha are the same thing and become egotistical and arrogant. To cure this sickness, caused by the medicine, Baso tells us, “Not mind, not buddha.”

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A monk asked, “Master Baso, why do you say that mind is buddha?”

Mazu said, “To stop babies from crying.”

The monk asked, “What do you say when they stop crying?”

Baso said, “Not mind, not buddha.”

The monk asked, “Without using either of these teachings, how would you instruct someone?”

Baso said, “”I would say to him that it’s not a thing.”

The monk asked, “If suddenly someone who was in the midst of it came to you, then what would you do?”

Baso said, “I would teach him to experience the great way.”

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“If you understand what Baso said, your study of zen is at an end.” – Mumon