Chi-ch'eng: Life is transient, like a flash of lightning or a dream. Eighty years pass like a cloud.  We're born and then we die. But before we receive this form, we had another face, our original face.  We can't see it with our eyes. We can only know it with our wisdom. The sutras say, "That which is beyond form is the buddha".  We all have buddha nature.  We're all destined to become buddhas.  But buddhahood isn't something that can be achieved in a couple of days. You have to practice before you can become aware of your original nature, your original face.

Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits
Red Pine
Pg. 143