A Brief Essay to Finding Your Buddha Nature
“To study the buddha way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. When actualized by myriad things, your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away. No trace of realization remains, and this no-trace continues endlessly.” This quote is from the Genjōkōan, an essay written by Dōgen Zenji, the founder of Zen Buddhism’s Sōtō school in Japan. It’s very influential because it summarizes Bodhidharma’s teachings on realizing the true self or Buddha Nature. Accordingly, Bodhidharma was a legendary 5th or 6th-century Buddhist monk credited with bringing Chan (Zen) Buddhism to China from India. His teachings laid the foundation for Zen’s focus on “evidence-based” awakening, emphasizing meditation and direct experience over scholarly study. In his teachings, “Outline of Practice” and “Bloodstream Sermon,” Bodhidharma instructs that by doing Zazen and putting the Four Noble Truths into practice, you can recognize your constantly evolving self and eventually understand your place in the net of existence, which is called Buddha Nature.
Realizing one’s Buddha Nature is a lengthy process that requires one to minimize and reduce vexations, for starters. When this occurs, clarity arises. In order to do this, the individual meditates and practices The Four Noble Truths. The The Four Noble Truths are as follows:
The Truth of Dukkha (Suffering): In life, there is suffering and dissatisfaction.
The Truth of the Cause of Dukkha: Suffering is caused by desire and attachment.
The Truth of the End of Dukkha: It is possible to end suffering by overcoming desire and attachment.
The Truth of the Path that Transforms Dukkha: The way to transform dukkha or suffering is by following the Eightfold Path, which includes right understanding, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.
By meditating and comprehending the Four Noble Truths, highlighting right speech, right livelihood, and right action in the Fourth Truth, one begins to reduce vexations or suffering, dukkha. In Zen, we follow the Precepts, which is a prescription to suffer less (it is primarily ethics training). Meanwhile, meditating allows you to be aware of your thoughts more, and your mind becomes a training ground for awareness and realization. You realize thoughts as truly only thoughts, and if you meditate enough, you eventually recognize that thoughts don’t have to control you, and they cannot harm you. This insight helps create clarity and peace of mind, and it diminishes self-inflicted issues, conflict, or drama. This contributes to reduced suffering and futhers clarity, peace, and tranquility, which makes way for realizing your Buddha Nature.
Then, with reduced, mundane vexations, and the development of mental clarity, you can begin studying the self. You may ask, “who am I, and why do I behave the way I do? Why do I have these dispositions?” Inadvertently, and with the guidance of a teacher, you then set on an intimate journey to study the self: one begins to understand who you are. Eventually, with enough years of experience and practice, one comes to terms with all they judge as good or bad and accepts themselves for “who you are” (I put “who they are” in quotes because the fixed idea of self is partly why we suffer, but I leave this for now).” Subsequently, we start to understand why people are the way they are. We recognize how causes and conditions have come to shape dispositions and behaviors. This is what Zen Master Dogen referred to when he said, “to study The Way is to study the self”! So, with fewer everyday worries and greater mental clarity, you start exploring and understanding the self. Ironically, once we get an understanding of who we are, with our strengths or gifts and weaknesses or conditioning, we can forget ourselves in the interconnectivity of all that is and realize our Buddha Nature!
“To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. When actualized by myriad things, your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away.” When we forget ourselves, we become fully present in the moment. This state is what the samurai of old referred to as “mushin,” or “no-mind,” where there is no thinking—only action. However, it’s essential to understand that our Buddha Nature doesn’t mean we vanish or cease to exist. On the contrary, we realize that we exist as part of everything. This awareness can feel mysterious, perhaps something often described as “spiritual.” The reality is that our nature is infinite, yet confined by our physical form. Thus, we get a glimpse of the infinite, while still recognizing our limits through our identity. Ultimately, when we lose awareness of ourselves, we become completely immersed in the now and “your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away.” This is the state of Buddha Nature!
In his works, “Outline of Practice” and “Bloodstream Sermon,” Bodhidharma teaches that through practicing zazen and applying the Four Noble Truths, one can come to understand their dynamic and constantly shifting selves, ultimately meshing with the interconnected and impermanent nature of existence—what is referred to as true nature or Buddha Nature. Down to bare-bones, the process begins with cultivating mental clarity through meditation and ethical training. Once clarity is established, one can start studying the self. Through this introspection, one realizes that the self is a construct shaped by past conditioning and predispositions. This awareness allows one to see the same patterns in others, recognizing how the sense of “I” is woven with everything that is, ever was, and ever will be. As the self dissolves into this interconnectedness, it transcends individuality, blending into all things—ultimately leading to the realization of Buddha Nature. From here, no separation exists and thus saving the life of your own is no different than saving the lives of others.
- Alberto Anzan Apalategui
