Buddha was not interested in the elements comprising human beings, nor in
metaphysical theories of existence. He was more concerned about how he
himself existed in this moment. That was his point. Bread is made from
flour. How flour becomes bread when put in the oven was for Buddha the most
important thing. How we become enlightened was his main interest. The
enlightened person is some perfect, desirable character, for himself and for
others. Buddha wanted to find out how human beings develop this ideal
character–how various sages in the past became sages. In order to find out
how dough became perfect bread, he made it over and over again, until he
became quite successful. That was his practice.
–Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind from Everyday Mind, a Tricycle book edited by Jean Smith