This man came to the Blessed One and said:
"It is said, O Lord,
that the samana Gotama denies the existence of the soul.
Do they who say so speak the truth,
or do they bear false witness against the Blessed One?" [2]

And the Blessed One said:
"There is a way in which those who say so are speaking truly of me;
on the other hand, there is a way in which those who say so do not speak truly of me. [3]

"The Tathagata teaches that there is no self.
He who says that the soul is his self
and that the self is the thinker of our thoughts and the actor of our deeds,
teaches a wrong doctrine which leads to confusion and darkness. [4]

"On the other hand, the Tathagata teaches that there is a mind.
He who understands by soul mind,
and says that mind exists,
teaches the truth which leads to clearness and enlightenment." [5]

The officer said:
"Does, then, the Tathagata maintain that two things exist?
that which we perceive with our senses and that which is mental?" [6]

Said the Blessed One:
"Verily, I say unto thee, thy mind is spiritual,
but neither is the sense-perceived void of spirituality.
The bodhi is eternal and it dominates all existence
as the good law guiding all beings in their search for truth.
It changes brute nature into mind, and there is no being
that cannot be transformed into a vessel of truth." [7]