Welcome to Gaia! ::

*nods*

Yes, that is correct. There is a simple phrase in buddhism which says that "Mind is Buddha." Then there's the lovely koan:

"A monk once asked Tozan as he was weighing some flax: 'what is Buddha?'
Tozan answered him: 'this flax weighs three pounds.'"

I love that koan because the answer is not in "what" Tozan says, it's "how" he says it. Let's look at the scene of the koan again. Tozan is weighing some flax. Because he is a wise man, and practices the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, he is very aware of what he is doing at that precise moment in time. He is weighing flax, and he is only weighing flax. He is not thinking about what he had for breakfast, he is not planning what he will do this evening. He is just there in that moment.

So along comes another monk who knows that Tozan is very wise, and the monk asks Tozan as Tozan is "just" weighing his flax, "what is Buddha?" Tozan, because he is in the moment, answers the first thing that is in his mind, "this flax weighs three pounds." The first thing that is in his mind. Mind is Buddha. Tozan demonstrates the buddhist concept of No-Mind.

I believe the concept of No-Mind is captured in this correspondence:

Dear Zen Master Seung Sahn,
I am most grateful for your kind teaching of the dharma. I am also thankful to have such an impeccable master as yourself. I'm trying to keep the mantra you gave me and with personal effort, I hope to realize don't-know mind.

Sincerely,
Jim


Dear Jim,
Thank you for your letter. In past lifetimes we had the same karma, so in this lifetime we meet again and practice the Buddha's teachings. Our similar karma does not stop in this life. In the future we will also meet again and practice Buddhist teachings together. And not just you - our whole Zen family. You must practice your mantra with great strength. This is very important. Mantra mind is Buddha's mind. Buddha's mind is your true self. An eminent teacher once said, "One mind is everything and everything is one mind." Also, one mind is infinite time, infinite space. But what is mind?

Long ago in China someone asked Zen Master Ma Jo, "What is mind?" He said, "Mind is Buddha, Buddha is mind." Later someone asked him the same question and he said, "No mind, no Buddha." No mind, no Buddha, what does that mean? If you strongly practice mantra at that time there is only one mind. One mind means empty mind. Empty mind means before thinking. Before thinking means no speech, no words. Before thinking is true mind, true Buddha. So, no mind, no Buddha. Only practice your mantra. Put it all down. Then you will find your true self. I hope you will soon get enlightenment and save all beings from suffering.

Sincerely,
Zen Master Seung Sahn