The mind is a complex thing — its continuum, annihilation, basic nature, and development are all governed by special rules. Apart from the Buddha, no one has mastered the way it works. A lot of people have substantial knowledge of the world, but they do not know who they are, what their basic nature is, and where they come from. Perhaps, when science reaches a certain stage of development, it will be able to validate the existence of these rules; until now, it cannot. Only in Buddhism are we able to do so. By way of practice, we can attain this knowledge since our mind is self-knowing. The Ch’an emphasis on knowing the nature of mind is none other than this self-knowing.

内心是一个非常复杂的东西，它的诞生、毁灭、本质以及发展过程，都有一个特定的规律。除了佛以外，谁都没有掌握这种规律。很多人天文地理无所不知，但就不懂自己是什么？我的本体是什么？我是怎么来的？当现代科学发展到一定程度的时候，或许能够证明这些规律的存在，但目前的科学技术还不行。只有佛教的方法，可以证明这一切。通过修行，就可以了知这一切，因为心是自知自明的。禅宗讲的明心见性，换句话来讲，就叫做自知自明，自己明白自己的本性。