Ikkyu, the famous Zen teacher of the Ashikaga era, was the son of an emperor. When he was very young, his mother left the palace and went to a temple to study Zen. Then Prince Ikkyu also became a student. When his mother died, she left him a letter. It read:
"To Ikkyu:
I have finished my work in this life and now I am returning to Eternity. I want you to become a good student and realize your Buddha nature. You will know whether I am in hell and whether I am always with you or not.
If you become a person who realizes that the Buddha and his follower Bodhidharma are his servants, you can finish studying and working for humanity. Buddha preached for 49 years and during this time he realized that there is no need to say a word. You should know why. But if you don't know and still want to know, avoid useless thinking.
Your mother, unborn, undead.
First of September.
The Buddha's teaching was mainly for the enlightenment of others. If you depend on any of the methods, you are nothing, an ignorant insect. There are 80,000 books on Buddhism, and if you want to read them all and still don't see your own nature, you won't even understand this letter. This is my last will and testament."
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru