So when we say ”everything
has buddha-nature,” this is already wrong. But tentatively, we must say
everything has buddha-nature. In Japanese, for an instance, I have, you know,
two eyes. You say I have two eyes. But we do not say I have two eyes. We say,
“There is two eyes.” The meaning is different, and in Chinese character, the word “have” means “skin,” which is part of our body. So
when we say “I have two eyes,” it means our eyes is a part of us. We do
not say even “I.” “There is two eyes,” we say. So
when we say, “everything has buddha-nature,” what we mean is not so
dualistic. -------------------------------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 67-12-06-B as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Many Shunryu Suzuki lecture ex/cerpts on cuke.com - from thee links to much more. Going slowly through Suzuki transcripts featuring whatever is next that seems okay.
