The Greatest Loss Lies in the Cycle of Birth and Death

If in learning Buddhism one can learn one's way into being foolish—like a simpleton who pays no regard to one's own personal interests—then there is no self, and one has achieved realization. If one is unaware that there is an "I" present, unaware that others deceive me, scold me, insult me, or belittle me, remaining unmoved by others' words, making no calculations or disputes about them, as if it had nothing to do with oneself, then one will obtain the great fruit of no-self. What people fear is being too shrewd, not foolish at all—engaging in all kinds of scheming, seeking advantage and avoiding harm, selfish and self-serving. Those who have a notion of self are never foolish; they all scheme, all refuse to suffer any loss, yet in the end they are outwitted by cause and effect and suffer the loss of birth-and-death in saṃsāra. Being in the six realms of existence, one suffers greatly, yet obtains no sublime fruit whatsoever—how could one not have suffered a loss?