A Buddha Before Buddha Zen Story

Today we enter… A Buddha Before Buddha.A koan that unthreads time, holiness, and identity in a single impossible gesture.

This one does not comfort.It removes the ground you think you’re standing on.

Step softly.

Let the Story Unfold

A monk asked Master Seijo:

What was the Buddha before he became Buddha?

Seijo answered:

A Buddha.

The monk protested:

How can that be?

Seijo said:

Because nothing was added.

Sit With the Meaning

The monk wanted a story.A journey.A transformation arc.Some heroic before-and-after that made enlightenment feel attainable.

Seijo refused him the fantasy.

What is Buddha before Buddha?

Buddha.

Not a seeker.Not a sinner.Not a soul waiting to ripen.Not a flawed creature destined for improvement.

Already Buddha.

Because enlightenment is not something gained —it is what remains when nothing false is clung to.

The monk wanted causation.Seijo offered nature.

The monk wanted becoming.Seijo offered being.

Nothing was added means:

Awakening is not a decoration.It is not an achievement.It is not the crown at the end of a path.

It is the truth that was never missing,obscured by everything you took to be “you.”

This koan is not about Siddhartha.It is about the one in youthat has always been untouched by effort, fear, or identity.

A Buddha before Buddhais the clarity before the story begins.

Turn Inward With Your Parts

• Is there a part of you that believes it must improve itself before it is worthy?

• What happens inside when you imagine there is nothing to add — only obscurations to release?

• Which protector insists on earning value, rather than discovering inherent fullness?

• Is there a younger part who fears what would be left if striving stopped?

Let Expression Rise

Choose the doorway that feels open:

IFS Journaling

Write from the part that believes it must change to be good.Let it speak.Let it name what it fears would happen if it stopped trying.

IFS Parts Art

Draw the “before” and “after” your striving part imagines —then notice what remains the same in both images.

Somatic IFS

Sit or stand in your usual “trying” posture —the slight forward lean, the tightened jaw, the effort in your chest.Hold it for a few breaths.Then release everything you can.Feel the body without effort.Notice what is still herewhen nothing is added.

If none of this feels right, simply rest with the koan.Let the silence reveal what effort cannot.

Stay here with your parts as long as you like, and we’ll meet again in the next story.

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