Everything is Buddha Nature

paragraph from Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

When we express our true nature, we are human beings.

When we do not, we do not know what we are. We are not

an animal, because we walk on two legs. We are something

different from an animal, but what are we? We may be a

ghost; we do not know what to call ourselves. Such a creature

does not actually exist. It is a delusion. We are not a human

being anymore, but we do exist. When Zen is not Zen,

nothing exists. Intellectually my talk makes no sense, but if

you have experienced true practice, you will understand what

I mean. If something exists, it has its own true nature, its

Buddha nature. In the Pari-nirvana Sutra, Buddha says, "Everything

has Buddha nature," but Dogen reads it in this way:

"Everything is Buddha nature." There is a difference. If you

say, "Everything has Buddha nature," it means Buddha nature

is in each existence, so Buddha nature and each existence

are different. But when you say, "Everything is Buddha nature,"

it means everything is Buddha nature itself. When

there is no Buddha nature, there is nothing at all. Something

apart from Buddha nature is just a delusion. It may exist in

your mind, but such things actually do not exist.