1001Philosophers

Bankei Yotaku Quotes on Mind

Bankei Yotaku was a Japanese Rinzai Zen master of the Edo period, abbot of the Ryomon-ji and the Korin-ji, and one of the most original Zen teachers of seventeenth-century Japan. This page collects quotes attributed to Bankei Yotaku on the topic of mind, drawn from across the philosopher's works.

Quotes

  • Attributed to Bankei Yotaku:

    “What is unborn cannot die; this is the Buddha-mind that you already are.”

  • Attributed to Bankei Yotaku:

    “Anger arises and you take it for yourself; let it pass, and you remain.”

  • Attributed to Bankei Yotaku:

    “The Unborn settles every problem; what cannot be settled by the Unborn was no problem at all.”

  • Attributed to Bankei Yotaku:

    “Do not seek the Buddha outside; the seeking itself is the Buddha-mind.”

  • Attributed to Bankei Yotaku:

    “Zen is not the special preserve of monks; it belongs to anyone who knows their own mind.”