Be a Light Unto Yourself

Be honest with yourself
Inquire into your own experience
Is there a part of you
That wants to be told the answer?

It's very human
To seek a shortcut
Yet it is the journey itself
That truly transforms us

Like moths to a flame
We're drawn to a great teacher
For we mistakenly believe
They have something that we do not

But it's actually the opposite
They have nothing to offer us
Their greatest gift
Is an empty box

The space inside that box
Is the same space outside that box
The mind is like this
Infinite space

The teacher is but a mirror
Reflecting your true nature
Empty clarity
Open and ungraspable

On the relative level
There are teachings and practices
But the ultimate treasure
Can not be attained or possessed

The Guru's most precious offering
Is to embody the dharmakaya
To point you back
Towards the light inside yourself

Don't become attached
To the teacher's personality
Stop searching for
The Buddha outside of yourself

Recall to mind
The Buddha's parting words
Take them to heart
Be a light unto yourself

Listen to Dogen Zenji
Stop chasing after concepts
Turn the light inward
Let mind and body drop away

The original face that remains
Is like a mirror reflecting appearances
Yet metaphors can only point towards
The true nature of the mind

How many different ways
Can we say the same thing?
Like a finger pointing to the moon
From Chan to Zen to Dzogchen

Your mind is dharmakaya
You could never be separated from it
Nor could you be reunited with it
Consciousness inseparable from its contents

The light of awareness
Animating this empty clarity
Burns just as brightly
In your own mind

Bow to your teacher
Who has nothing to offer you
Who simply points you back
Towards the light inside yourself