MANY GO ON JOURNEY BUT FEW REACH, WHY?

JOSHU IS ALSO REPORTED TO HAVE SAID:
THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE ONLY SEEKERS AFTER BUDDHA, BUT NOT A SINGLE ONE IS A TRUE MAN OF TAO.

To be a seeker in a lukewarm way, thinking that Buddhahood is certain..."If I don't work it out today, there is tomorrow." The seeker without an urgency -- there are thousands of people around the world. There are even more cases now than at the time of Joshu -- there are millions of people who have a certain idea that one day they will turn inwards, but that day has not come yet. There are so many other things to be done. There are always, there have always been thousands of people interested, but not interested enough to risk their whole life. And unless you risk your whole life, unless it becomes such an urgency that it has to be done whatever the consequences -- whatsoever the losses, you have to know yourself -- unless this becomes such a total thirst, you will not become a buddha. Or a man of Tao -- which are not two things; a man of Tao is the Chinese expression for the same experience as becoming a Buddha.

(Joshu : The Lion's Roar)