“The heart is what is important.” There is nothing more vulnerable, nothing more corruptible than the human mind; nor is there anything as powerful, steadfast and ennobling.
Without practice or actual efforts, there is no bodhisattva. Action is the essence of a Buddha. A self-centered life lived solely in pursuit of one’s own benefit and fortune is empty and base. A Bodhisattva of the Earth, in contrast, respects others and works for their happiness.
Birth, aging, sickness and death are the inescapable realities of life, and the eternal questions humankind has attempted to resolve. How can we create the greatest value amidst a reality that is impermanent and in constant flux? It was the search for answers to these questions that led to the birth of Buddhism.