But this does not mean that there is no enduring existence. If there were no enduring existence, there would be no point in practicing. What exists is our original and fundamentally pure Buddha-nature. Originally and always, there is Buddha-nature, just as there is a sky. Whereas our bodies and minds come and go like clouds, Buddha-nature, or self-nature, always exists, just as the sky exists whether or not clouds appear.

Buddha-nature cannot be created by practice. It has always been present. If Buddha-nature were something that could be created, then it could also be destroyed. Then why practice if one already possesses Buddha-nature? Practice does not create a Buddha. Practice helps us to realize or reveal Buddha-nature, which has always been there. If someone asks, "Where or what is the Buddha?", answer with a question: "Where or what isn't the Buddha?"

You cannot take your body, which is a conglomeration of the five skandhas, and turn it into Buddha. Yet, Buddha is not separate from the five skandhas. Buddha is totality. The five skandhas are things we wrap up and bind into tiny individual selves. Through the five skandhas we give ourselves identities, but they are narrow, impoverished identities. If you think, "This body is mine, separate from everything else, " and then say, "I am Buddha, " then you have created a Buddha as narrow and impoverished as yourself.