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Svabhava In The Philosophy Of Zen Buddhism, Frances Wesely Milller

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

When the Zen master asks, "who are you?" a reply as to your name, age, and place of residence would be out of order. The proper answer might be silence. But if silence were consciously resorted to in contrast to sound, this would still be no answer. In fact, the only acceptable answer would lie in your merely being what you are at that very moment, without a second, or reflective, thought. And this amounts to being what you have always been and always will be. The question has to do with your "original nature," that which you were before …