more than two thousand years ago and was smarter
than you’ll ever be. Buddha is our inherent nature—
our buddha nature—and what that means is that if
you’re going to grow up fully, the way that it happens
is that you begin to connect with the intelligence that
you already have. It’s not like some intelligence that’s
going to be transplanted into you. If you’re going to be
fully mature, you will no longer be imprisoned in the
childhood feeling that you always need to protect
yourself or shield yourself because things are too
harsh. If you’re going to be a grown-up—which I
would define as being completely at home in your
world no matter how difficult the situation—it’s be-
cause you will allow something that’s already in you
to be nurtured. You allow it to grow, you allow it to
come out, instead of all the time shielding it and pro-
tecting it and keeping it buried.
Someone once told me, “When you feel afraid,
that’s ‘fearful buddha.’” That could be applied to
whatever you feel. Maybe anger is your thing. You
just go out of control and you see red, and the next
thing you know you’re yelling or throwing something
or hitting someone. At that time, begin to accept the
fact that that’s “enraged buddha.” If you feel jealous,
that’s “jealous buddha.” If you have indigestion, that’s
“buddha with heartburn.” If you’re happy, “happy
buddha”; if bored, “bored buddha.” In other words,
anything that you can experience or think is worthy
140 Abandon Any Hope of Fruition