The Buddha said long ago that when anyone in the future met with his teachings, it would be the same as meeting him in person. Therefore we can “meet the Buddha” today in the form of teachers, teachings, or our own practice. Saying we want to meet the Buddha is like saying we want to meet the awakened state of our own mind. We don’t have to change who we are in order to meet the Buddha in this way. The purpose of our meeting is not to become a student of another culture or to discover someone else’s wisdom. We’re not practicing Indian culture to become Indian, or practicing Japanese or Tibetan culture to become Japanese or Tibetan. Our purpose is to discover who we truly are, to connect with our own wisdom.

Ponlop Rinpoche

from the book Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom

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Further quotes from the book Rebel Buddha:

• Clearly seeing what is truth and what is illusion
• What?
• Personal verification
• Real wisdom
• Extending our compassion to ourselves
• This daring heart
• The utter simplicity of the Buddha’s message