True Liberation

Good friends, once you have repented, I will make the four universal vows for you. Each of you should be careful to listen accurately.
"The beings in my own mind are infinite; I vow to liberate them.
"The afflictions in my own mind are infinite; I vow to end them.
"The teachings in my own nature are inexhaustible; I vow to study them.
"The buddhahood in my own nature is supreme; I vow to attain it."
Good friends, doesn't everyone say, " Beings are infinite; I vow to liberate them"? Speaking this way doesn't mean I am going to do the liberating. Good friends, the beings in the mind are delusion, deception, immorality, jealousy, malice--states of mind like this are all beings. Each of you must liberate yourselves through your own essential nature; that is called true liberation.

---The Sutra of Hui-neng---