Pai-Chang

“You realize that what you have found is your own and doesn’t come from anywhere outside.” To me this means that it is inside us, we do not need to go on a quest that goes on for many days and over many miles, because if we do not find it in ourselves we will not find it anywhere else. “After enlightenment you are still the same as you were before. There is no mind and there is no truth. You are simply free from unreality and delusion.” Our appearances do not change, we just realize an inner strength given to us by God. “To behold the Buddha nature you must wait for the right moment and the right conditions.” This means that even if we go seeking the Buddha we will not understand it until we are meant to understand it. In order to reach the Buddha nature we must understand what it is meant to reach the Buddha nature and to cherish the Buddha nature. Meaning that we must be put to the test to see if we will be willing to live without. Like the boy with the ponytail, he did not become a student of the teacher until he was willing to give up his ponytail. I know what I am typing is confusing but it makes sense in my head. I mean that we can not completely give up something if we do not know what we are giving up, thus we can not fully understand something unless we fully understand it. So you can not have reached the Buddha nature only when it suits you, if you have reached the Buddha nature you must stay in the Buddha nature. Meaning do not be two-faced about your beliefs, do not follow your belief only when it pleases you, follow them continually and whole-heartedly. “When you have arrived at this recognition, please hold on to it.”