Chapter 42 Chapter 4 Nirvana Beyond the Concept-5

But in the midst of ignorance, darkness and confusion, how can we discover the Buddha-nature?For the sailor adrift in the midst of the ocean, the first sign of hope comes from a ray of light passing through a dark storm.Heading towards it, they will reach the source of light - the lighthouse.Compassion is like the light emanating from Buddha nature.At first, Buddha-nature is just a concept beyond our view, but if we generate compassion, we will eventually be able to approach it.From a person who is lost in the darkness of greed, hatred, and delusion, it may be difficult to see the Buddha nature.Their Buddha-nature is so remote, we might think it doesn't exist at all.But even in the darkest and most violent of people there are flashes of compassion, however fleeting and dim they may be.If they can cherish and pay attention to the light at first glance, and invest more energy to move towards the light source, their Buddha nature can still be discovered.

For this reason, compassion is praised as the safest way to achieve the complete removal of ignorance.Siddhartha's first act of mercy was in a very early life, in an incongruous place - he was not a bodhisattva at that time, but a being reborn in hell due to his own bad karma.When he and his companions were forced to pull a cart through the flames of hell, Hades sat in the back and whipped them mercilessly.Siddhartha was still in good health, but his companion was very weak and was beaten even worse. Seeing his companion being whipped, Siddhartha felt a surge of compassion.He begged Hades, please let him go, and I will bear the weight of the two.In a fit of anger, Hades beat Siddhartha hard, and he split his head and died, reborn in a good place.His compassion at the moment of death continued to grow, and became more and more brilliant in later lives.

With compassion, there are countless paths that can lead us to Buddhahood.Even just an intellectual understanding of the inherent goodness of ourselves and all beings can bring us closer to achievement.It's as if we've misplaced our precious diamond ring, but at least know it's still there somewhere in the jewelry box, not in the middle of nowhere. Although we describe enlightenment in terms of achievement, wish, and prayer, we do not actually receive enlightenment from an external source.It is more correct to say that we "discover" the enlightenment that has always been there.Enlightenment is part of our true nature.Our true nature is like a golden statue still in a mold, and the mold is like our defilements and ignorance.Since ignorance and emotions are not an inherent part of our nature any more than a mold is a part of a statue, there is such a thing as primordial purity.When the mold is broken, the statue appears.When our defilements are cleared away, our true Buddha nature emerges.But it is very important to understand that Buddha nature is not a divine and real soul or essence.