Develop a true mind that is as intrinsic as our nature: Each one of us possesses an intrinsically true nature. Once we uncover the true nature that is like the ocean, like space and like the earth, we can take one step further and uncover our original face, return to our native home, and retrieve what has been ours from the very beginning. In general, anything that enables us to accomplish the ultimate goal of benefiting both oneself and others as well as enlightening both oneself and others must never be lost or forgotten by learners of the Dharma. These include gratitude, humility, determination for the Way, merit, deep belief, respect, magnanimity, and endurance, all of which are the resolves that Buddhists cannot do without.

Everyone knows that the Buddha nature is “within” oneself and is not to be sought outside, so that no student would be fooled by being told to seek it by going to India or by reading a certain sutra.

The most important thing is to express your true nature in the simplest, most adequate way and to appreciate it in the smallest existence.

True human capabilities will not find expression in competition. True human capabilities will find expression only in absolute relaxation. Your mind, your body will work best, will find fullest expression, only when you are joyful and peaceful, and quiet within yourself.

Buddha is our inherent nature — our buddha nature — and what that means is that if you’re going to grow up fully, the way that it happens is that you begin to connect with the intelligence that you already have. It’s not like some intelligence that’s going to be transplanted into you. If you’re going to be fully mature, you will no longer be imprisoned in the childhood feeling that you always need to protect yourself or shield yourself because things are too harsh. If you’re going to be a grown-up — which I would define as being completely at home in your world no matter how difficult the situation — it’s because you will allow something that’s already in you to be nurtured. You allow it to grow, you allow it to come out, instead of all the time shielding it and protecting it and keeping it buried. Someone once told me, “When you feel afraid, that’s ‘fearful buddha.’” That could be applied to whatever you feel. Maybe anger is your thing. You just go out of control and you see red, and the next thing you know you’re yelling or throwing something or hitting someone. At that time, begin to accept the fact that that’s “enraged buddha.” If you feel jealous, that’s “jealous buddha.” If you have indigestion, that’s “buddha with heartburn.” If you’re happy, “happy buddha”; if bored, “bored buddha.” In other words, anything that you can experience or think is worthy of compassion; anything you could think or feel is worthy of appreciation.

Value the person you are right now, and the moments they are creating. Even if you become a Buddha in the future, you of the present will never be seen. It is just one time, one direction. If we think about it, what seems to be just an ordinary person's petty realm today is indeed very precious.

The buddha nature, or tathagatagarbha, is present in all beings, but is hidden by obscurations, in the same way that buried gold is hidden by the earth under which it lies. As you listen to, reflect, and meditate on the Dharma, all the inherent qualities of your buddha nature will be actualized.

When we express our true nature, we are human beings.

If you know anything about Buddhism, you will know that the most important point is to be yourself and not try to become anything that you are not already. Buddhism is fundamentally about being in touch with your own deepest nature and letting it flow out of you unimpeded.

If one understands that the only thing that remains timeless is the richness of one’s own buddha nature, one can relax even with regard to death.