‘Good friends, your own mind taking refuge in your own essential nature is taking refuge in the real Buddha. Self-refuge means getting rid of bad states of mind in your own nature – jealousy, flattery, selfishness, deceptiveness, disregard for others, disrespect for others, false views, conceit, and any bad behavior that might take place at any time. Always seeing your own faults and not discussing others’ good or bad is self-refuge. One should always be humble in mind and respectful toward everyone. This is mastery of seeing essential nature, without any more obstruction. This is self-refuge.’ (The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch)
