Zhuangzi · As I Smell the Osmanthus Blossoms, I Marvel That Everyone Is a Seed of Immortality and Buddhahood

On an evening stroll, I was stopped in my tracks by the fragrance of osmanthus. The scent naturally draws you into deep breathing and meditative stillness.
Suddenly, I marveled that everyone is a seed capable of cultivating immortality.
From the perspective of birds, fish, and bees, from the perspective of vultures, catfish, and golden apple snails, humans truly are an extraordinary species: they nourish themselves on beauty, gathering the rosy dawn and its purple radiance, gathering the bright moon and the cool breeze, gathering the fragrance of flowers and the shadows of bamboo. It really is like something out of a novel about cultivating immortality.
Everyone is a seed capable of cultivating immortality.
Humans nourish themselves on truth, goodness, and beauty.
People nourish themselves on goodness: they rejoice when they hear of it and are moved to tears when they encounter it. Everyone has a heart of compassion; everyone is a seed of Buddhahood.
People nourish themselves on truth: Daoists cultivate truth, Marxists and Leninists seek truth, and rappers all want to keep it real. Everyone is a seed capable of cultivating the Way.
As the golden light of the setting sun shines on the face of a wise ape—an ancient planet, an ancient face—the present moment is complete.