buddha

It is sad that people have been confused for so long.  They do not understand that their own minds are Buddha and that their own natures are Dharma.  They look for Dharma by searching for sages for a way.  They look for Buddha but do not observe their own minds.

If they aspire to Buddhahood while clinging to their opinion that Buddha is outside the mind and that Dharma is outside their own nature, then even if they burn their limbs and break their bones for a million kalpas to show their sincerity, even if they sit constantly and never lie down to sleep, write out sutras in their own blood, eat only one meal a day, and practice every austerity—it would be like  trying to cook rice by boiling sand, and in the end they will only wear themselves out.

All the Buddhas of the past were simply ordinary people who understood their minds.  Likewise, all the masters of the present have simply cultivated their own minds.  And all future practitioners will have to depend upon cultivation of mind.  So if you wish to follow the Way, do not seek for it outside yourselfThe Only Thing is Within Us, But We Do Not See It
.--Chinul (1158-1210)