Reveal the Buddha-Nature That Has Been Obscured

There is a traditional analogy in which a cow eats ordinary grass, gives milk, and careful preparation leads from that milk to clarified ghee. When we see only the grass, it is difficult to recognize the rich nourishment that can emerge through the process. Yet with proper care and effort, a depth not visible at first is revealed. In the same way, beings who seem ordinary can reveal the Buddha-nature obscured within them through practice and wisdom.

The vinī tree on Mount Sula is said to appear ordinary while holding precious medicinal qualities. Its outward appearance alone does not disclose its full value. We likewise should not decide the entire worth or possibility of ourselves or others from the habits and faults currently on display. Afflictions can lead to actions that must be corrected, but those afflictions are not the whole person.

The analogy of supreme wondrous water retaining its natural taste within the salty sea reminds us that living in a world filled with affliction does not make Buddha-nature identical to affliction. Even when anger arises and desire shakes the mind, the capacity to notice, turn around, and act with wisdom and compassion has not vanished.

The body composed of earth, water, fire, and wind changes without cease. We cannot avoid the impermanence of birth, aging, illness, and death. Yet the teaching of Buddha-nature asks us not to treat the changing body and emotions as the whole of who we are. Buddha-nature here does not establish an unchanging personal soul or fixed self. It points to the profound capacity of every being to illuminate affliction and move toward awakening.

Practice, therefore, is not the work of bringing in a new light from outside and attaching it to ourselves. It is the work of noticing and releasing greed, anger, and delusion that obscure the clarity already present. As each covering is removed, wisdom and compassion recover their natural direction rather than being manufactured by force.

Do not look at yourself and conclude, “This is simply what I am.” Do not look at another person and decide, “That person can never change.” This does not mean overlooking wrongdoing or avoiding responsibility. We correct harmful conduct clearly while remembering that every being retains the capacity to awaken. That is the attitude of trusting Buddha-nature.

Quietly observe one affliction that arose in the mind today. Do not bind your whole identity to it. Look beneath it for the awareness and wholesome intention that are still at work. Practice is not a competition to acquire what we lack; it is a path of removing what obscures the clarity already here.