The Buddha, the sovereign and authority, resides within each person. Therefore, when a person studies Buddhism, it is not superstition, but correct belief. The correct faith is to awaken yourself, realize yourself, and become a Buddha yourself. This is the true spirit of learning Buddhism. If you go to worship and pray, that is a superstitious practice; if you want to rely on Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to protect yourself, to be honest, Buddha will not interfere in your affairs, but will tell you how to protect yourself. This is the same as the spirit of Chinese culture: seek your own happiness, help yourself and then God will help you, help yourself and then others will help you. In other words, you must help yourself first, and then Buddha will help you. If you do something bad today, you can't just rush to the Buddha and Bodhisattva and pray, saying sorry, and expect them to forgive you. That's impossible.
Therefore, to attain Buddhahood, one must discover the Buddha-nature within one's heart. This is what is called "arousing the Anuttara Samyaksambodhi mind." I often warn young students: If you think that sitting cross-legged is learning Buddhism, and not sitting cross-legged is not learning Buddhism, then that's just practicing leg training, not learning Buddhism. Sitting in meditation is merely cultivating concentration, training the body and mind in preparation for the path of Buddhist study. This concept must be clearly understood.
