"Meaning is of the mind and significance is of the no-mind. Meaning is utilitarian – the bicycle has a meaning, but a roseflower? – utterly meaningless.

"But does the bicycle have any significance? The roseflower has immense significance, a great grandeur; just look at the flower and its beauty and its impossibility. Out of earth comes such a phenomenal, beautiful, fragrant rose for nobody in particular, but it spreads its fragrance to the whole universe. It is for anybody who is receptive.

"The concern of philosophy is meaning, and the concern of Zen is significance. The meaning has always to be rational, significance has no such bondage. What meaning does love have? It has immense beauty, it has great joy, it is a blessing – but don't ask the meaning.

"Since the days of Gautam Buddha it has been asked again and again by the Buddhist monks, 'What is the meaning of Buddhism?'

"Just by their question they have missed. A wrong question cannot provoke a right answer.

"Keeping this in your view, meditate on these small anecdotes.

A monk asked Bokushu, 'What is the inner meaning of the teachings of Buddhism?'

"Now nobody can say that his question is irrelevant; but in the world of Zen it is absolutely irrelevant, because in the first place there is no teaching in Buddhism. In fact there is no such thing as Buddhism, there is only the explosion of buddhahood. It is not an 'ism' like communism, it is not an 'ism' like fascism, it is not a philosophy propounded by hundreds of philosophers around the world.

"Buddha is a unique phenomenon. He has no teaching, but only a few hintsa few hints so that you can find yourself. He does not give any definitions, because to define is to limit. To define is to make a certain system of judgment: those who come within that area are right and those who do not come within that area become automatically wrong.

"Buddhahood is an experience without limits. It can happen to the young, to the old, to the white, to the black, to man, to woman. It can happen to anyone who is ready to take a jump from outside into his own self."