Fangzheng smiled. "I told you a long time ago already. What we cultivate is the Buddha in our hearts. The Buddha in your heart should be yours, not that of others. If there is good in your heart, why would you care about anything external? Now you have Buddha in your heart, but your heart is lacking you. If you continue cultivating in such a manner, won't you end up becoming me? You are not cultivating Buddhism if you lose yourself in the process. Instead, that is cultivating evil."
Monkey listened to Fangzheng attentively, memorizing every single word he said, even though he remained confused and unsure of what Fangzheng meant. Cultivate himself? Cultivate himself to become Buddha? Then wasn't he Buddha already in the past? But… He could not figure it out or wrap his head around it.
Fangzheng suggested the following. "Slowly think about it. When you truly understand it, you will be a real monk."
