"You must never think that any of the eighty thousand sacred teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha’s lifetime or any of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions and three existences are outside yourself. Your practice of the Buddhist teachings will not relieve you of the sufferings of birth and death in the least unless you perceive the true nature of your life. If you seek enlightenment outside yourself, then your performing even ten thousand practices and ten thousand good deeds will be in vain. It is like the case of a poor man who spends night and day counting his neighbor’s wealth but gains not even half a coin."
From Gosho "On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 3)
From Gosho "On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 3)
