Buddha-Nature Neither Increases Nor Decreases

When much remains unknown and the mind is often unsettled, it is easy to think that one lacks the possibility of awakening. Conversely, after a special experience in practice or a slight understanding of a difficult teaching, one may think that a greater nature has been newly acquired. Yet awakening is not the work of making and attaching a nature that was absent. It is leaving behind not knowing what has always been so and recognizing it clearly.

This must not be taken to mean that no effort is necessary. Even if a reference pitch remains constant, music will be out of tune when the instrument is not tuned. The teaching that Buddha-nature does not decrease is not an excuse for laziness; it is encouragement not to give up, because no one is abandoned from the beginning, and to keep cultivating.

Imagine a quiet music practice room. When a beginner misses a cello note, the reference pitch does not become smaller or disappear. When the playing becomes accurate, the reference pitch does not become greater. The pitch remains as it is; the player opens the ear, listens, and brings the string into tune. When it is wrong, the player listens again; without boasting after getting a little closer, the player relaxes the whole body and tunes again and again.

Practice is like this. Even when greed, anger, and delusion obscure our ability to recognize our original nature, the possibility of awakening does not vanish. Even when practice clears the mind, we do not gain a new self or soul. We release the attachments that covered us and clearly see what was previously unseen.

Therefore, do not decide that you are deficient. At the same time, do not stop by saying, "I am originally complete, so I need not cultivate further." Inferiority diminishes the possibility already present, and pride prevents us from seeing the remaining cloudiness. Let go of both extremes and calmly tune today's words and actions.

Buddha-nature does not mean an object I possess or an unchanging individual soul. It is not a fixed thing to grasp as "mine"; it points to the possibility of awakening, open to everyone and revealed through practice and conditions. It is neither proof that I am better than others nor a verdict that I am worse. As awareness deepens, comparison lessens and compassionate action increases.

Today, listen once more for the reference pitch of the mind. Before speaking when anger rises, pause; when desire comes first, look toward the person beside you; and when you do not know, learn again honestly. To trust original nature is not to elevate oneself, but to keep tuning oneself rightly without giving up.