Contemplating the Five Aggregates and Eliminating the View of Self (Part I) (Second Edition)
Section 2: The Different Practice Goals of the Great and Small Vehicles
1. The Dharma the Buddha Realized Was Not Dependent Origination and Emptiness of Nature
The twelve links of dependent origination that the World-Honored One taught in the Āgama sūtras is the liberation dharma practiced by śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas; it does not involve the Great Vehicle tathāgatagarbha dharma, nor is it the direct dharma for attaining buddhahood. Therefore, the twelve links of dependent origination is not the ultimate dharma for attaining buddhahood. The ultimate Buddha-dharma does not teach the emptiness of all dharmas as illusory dharmas, but rather teaches all the meritorious qualities of the tathāgatagarbha, which neither arises nor ceases and is not empty. When śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas complete the practice of the twelve links of dependent origination, they can only realize dependent origination and emptiness of nature, knowing that all dharmas of the five-aggregate world arise from causes and conditions—relying on the cause of the tathāgatagarbha together with the karmic seeds of ignorance, all dharmas arise. However, they do not yet have the ability to realize the Great Vehicle mind of ultimate reality, the tathāgatagarbha, and therefore do not yet possess the Great Vehicle wisdom of ultimate reality.
Since the various conditions relied upon by the twelve links of dependent origination all arise from the tathāgatagarbha, these conditions are all subject to arising and ceasing, are not real, and are illusory empty marks. When śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas realize this principle, they can attain liberation and escape the suffering of birth-and-death saṃsāra. But they have not yet cultivated and realized the Great Vehicle dharma and do not understand the tathāgatagarbha dharma for attaining buddhahood. Of the three vehicles of Buddha-dharma, they have only cultivated and realized the two vehicles; they neither understand nor have cultivated and realized the supreme vehicle dharma. In this way they escape the three realms, yet the beginningless ignorance and the ignorance as numerous as dust and sand have neither been broken through nor eradicated, and the habitual tendencies of ignorance and the latent dispositions of afflictions have not been eliminated. Therefore, the realization level of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas is still very far from that of the Buddha.
Thus, what the Buddha realized at the time of his attainment of the Way could not possibly be the two-vehicle dharma of dependent origination and emptiness of nature, but rather the supreme vehicle tathāgatagarbha dharma. When the Buddha gazed at the morning star in the night, he saw the Buddha-nature with his eyes—he saw the most real Buddha-nature; this was the seeing of the nature at the buddha-stage. When the Buddha's great mirror-like wisdom (ādarśa-jñāna) manifested and the four wisdoms were perfectly clear, he accomplished the Buddha Way. It was not the shallow two-vehicle dharma of dependent origination and emptiness of nature as mistakenly understood by worldly people; the two are vastly different in essence. If the Buddha had only realized the two-vehicle dharma of dependent origination and emptiness of nature, he could not have taught sentient beings the true tathāgatagarbha dharma of the Great Vehicle for attaining buddhahood; then the Buddha-dharma would be incomplete, with an enormous deficiency, and sentient beings could not obtain the true, greatest, ultimate benefit. Yet in the later period of his turning of the Dharma wheel, the Buddha constantly taught sentient beings the Great Vehicle dharma for attaining buddhahood, which shows that what the Buddha realized at his attainment of the Way was fundamentally not dependent origination and emptiness of nature. Nowadays sentient beings misunderstand the Buddha-dharma too severely and their views are very shallow; they all take dependent origination and emptiness of nature as the center and focus of the Buddha-dharma, unable to connect it with the source of the myriad dharmas, not knowing the origin of the myriad dharmas, not knowing the source of the world—this is precisely the defect of the Buddha-dharma.
2. Arhats Who Turn from the Small Vehicle Toward the Great Vehicle
"Small" refers to a small mental capacity, rarely taking others into account or considering others' benefit; "vehicle" (yāna) means a carrying tool, a means of transport, a conveyance. The Small Vehicle means that its dharma is shallow and not ultimate, delivering people of limited faculties and limited numbers. The Great Vehicle means a vast mental capacity, practicing not entirely for oneself but also considering the benefit of the vast multitude of sentient beings; the dharma is great and profound, delivering people without limit and ultimately.
The mentality of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas is to want to escape suffering and attain liberation for themselves alone, ignoring everything else. They do not consider the suffering of sentient beings, do not consider the development of Buddhism, do not consider repaying the Buddha's kindness, and single-mindedly rush toward nirvāṇa without remainder, hoping never to appear again in the three realms to suffer the suffering of body and mind. Their mental capacity is very narrow, hence they are called Small Vehicle people. The Great Vehicle bodhisattvas, however, have vast mental capacity: they not only seek benefit for themselves by striving for the supreme great nirvāṇa, but also lead all sentient beings to escape together from the great pit of fire of birth-and-death, heading toward the supreme Buddha Way and realizing ultimate nirvāṇa. To accomplish the Buddha Way and attain ultimate liberation, Small Vehicle people need to turn their Small Vehicle mind toward the Great Vehicle mind, taking the great bodhi highway of the Great Vehicle rather than the narrow goat path of the Small Vehicle.
Practitioners such as śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas are divided into two types: one is the indeterminate śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha who can turn the mind toward the Great Vehicle; the other is the determinate śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha who does not turn toward the Great Vehicle. When śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas who turn toward the Great Vehicle cultivate to a certain stage, after their minds have gained stability, seeing that sentient beings' suffering is unending, they make the vow, for the sake of sentient beings, not to enter nirvāṇa without remainder. Or, upon hearing the Buddha expound Great Vehicle dharma principles, out of delight in the Great Vehicle they pursue supreme bodhi, pursue seeing the mind and seeing the nature, cultivate and study the tathāgatagarbha dharma, no longer choose to enter nirvāṇa without remainder, but instead remain in the world to continue practicing, benefiting themselves and benefiting others.
The turning of two-vehicle people toward the Great Vehicle can happen at different stages of practice—some before attaining the fruits, some after attaining the fruit stages—depending on the influence of each one's conditions. If a person's mind is not set on the Small Vehicle, even if they practice the Small Vehicle dharma of the Four Noble Truths and attain the arhat fruit, as long as they do not only want personal liberation and do not want to enter nirvāṇa without remainder to hide from suffering, they are not Small Vehicle people, and the question of turning from the small to the great does not even arise. Only the selfish mentality of śrāvakas needs to turn from the small mind to the great mind, becoming Great Vehicle bodhisattvas of great mind who broadly benefit immeasurable sentient beings.
In this present age of the Dharma's decline, ordinary sentient beings have a deeply entrenched view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and even heavier grasping on self. If they do not practice the Small Vehicle dharma of the Four Noble Truths to first seek the eradication of the view of self, the Great Vehicle dharma will also not be easy to cultivate well. Without practicing the Small Vehicle dharma to eradicate the view of self, and directly practicing the Great Vehicle dharma by first engaging in Chan investigation—even if one investigates out the secret meaning and awakens to the tathāgatagarbha—the view of self still will not die thoroughly and will not be eradicated completely. Because this view of self does not die thoroughly, self-regard, selfishness, and arrogance will continue to wreak havoc, and the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion will still be very heavy; one cannot make great progress on the Great Vehicle path, and often most just mark time in place.
The fruits of the Great and Small Vehicles are not completely separate but closely connected. If the Small Vehicle fruit cannot advance, the Great Vehicle fruit stagnates. Practicing in this way for a lifetime, what one can actually make use of is still not much; even if one can discourse eloquently and dazzlingly on principles, the gap from actual realization remains very large—one is not as cultivated as one appears on the surface. We sentient beings of this degenerate age have heavy karmic obstructions; the view of self and the view of grasping on views are extremely heavy. We must lay a firm foundation in the Small Vehicle, letting the five aggregates die thoroughly and be severed forever without remainder; then the subduing and complete eradication of the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion can come quickly. In this way, one obtains great benefit life after life, being a bodhisattva becomes easy and pleasant, one no longer commits many evil karmas and evil actions to obstruct one's path, and one no longer incurs very heavy and great painful retribution. We must have wisdom, carefully ponder these principles, and make the choice most beneficial to ourselves. Do not belittle the practice of the Small Vehicle dharma, do not aim too high, but should advance steadily in a down-to-earth manner—only this is most beneficial to the progress of one's own path.
3. The Different Practice Goals of Bodhisattvas and Arhats
The World-Honored One taught in the Āgama sūtras that the accumulation of craving is the accumulation of suffering; when craving ceases, suffering ceases; when suffering ceases, liberation is attained. The prerequisite for extinguishing craving is cultivating the principle of the Four Noble Truths: knowing the truth of suffering, eradicating the truth of accumulation, cultivating the truth of the Eightfold Noble Path, one can extinguish suffering and thereby realize the truth of the cessation of suffering. Realizing the truth of the cessation of suffering makes one a sage liberated by wisdom. Liberation comes from the eradication of the view of self; only after the view of self is severed can grasping on self be completely eliminated; after grasping on self is severed, the mind attains liberation. From then on, one no longer grasps at the false dharmas of the five-aggregate world and becomes a free person.
After an arhat attains liberation and the mind becomes free, at the end of life he extinguishes his five aggregates entirely, and the manas is also extinguished; in the future, in the world of the three realms, no five-aggregate body will appear again to undergo suffering—the sentient being that was this arhat vanishes from the three realms from then on. He can no longer continue studying the Buddha-dharma to obtain the profound Great Vehicle prajñā wisdom, cannot use his own cultivation to benefit and gladden sentient beings, and cannot accomplish the Buddha Way; he has only obtained a temporary and non-ultimate liberation. This is because they lack wisdom, their compassionate minds are thin, their selfishness is relatively heavy, and they do not pity the suffering of sentient beings. Therefore the Buddha said they are Small Vehicle people, scorched sprouts and rotten seeds.
Bodhisattvas, upon seeing the mind and realizing the eighth consciousness, simultaneously eradicate the view of self, knowing that the eighth consciousness is true and the five aggregates are false, no longer taking the five aggregates as self. The path they must walk thereafter is to cultivate the Great and Small Vehicles simultaneously: on the Small Vehicle path of liberation they too must extinguish craving and attain liberation, but bodhisattvas do not permanently extinguish the five-aggregate body and abandon it; rather, they skillfully use the five-aggregate body to cultivate the Buddha-dharma while also benefiting and gladdening sentient beings. From then on, although they live in the world of the three realms, their minds are free and liberated. Bodhisattvas walk the Great Vehicle path of practice with heavy compassionate minds, vowing to benefit themselves and others. Though their minds attain liberation, they never enter extinction, unlike arhats who fear the suffering of birth-and-death, extinguish themselves, and will never again be born in the world of the three realms, being able neither to benefit themselves nor to benefit others. If a bodhisattva were to take extinction, it would violate the bodhisattva precepts, violate the bodhisattva's compassion, and violate the teachings of all Buddhas. Therefore, a liberated bodhisattva must, at the end of life, retain some afflictions of delusive cognition (kleśa) unsevered in order to continue being born in the three realms—this is called "retaining delusion to moisten rebirth" (留惑润生).
4. The Two Kinds of Liberation of the Great and Small Vehicles
There are two kinds of liberation: one is the liberation of the beyond-training (aśaikṣa) sages of the two vehicles, the arhats and pratyekabuddhas; the other is the liberation of Great Vehicle bodhisattvas. The Small Vehicle liberation means no longer having any craving for the worldly dharmas of the three realms, having completely severed the ignorant afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion, no longer being bound by birth-and-death in the three realms, and having the ability to extinguish one's own five aggregates and eighteen elements and enter nirvāṇa without remainder. By studying the principle of the Four Noble Truths of suffering, accumulation, cessation, and the path in the four Āgama sūtras, realizing that the five aggregates are without self, eradicating the view of self and the three fetters, then attaining the first dhyāna, then severing craving and severing grasping on self, one can attain liberation and escape the birth-and-death saṃsāra of the three realms.
The pratyekabuddhas of the middle vehicle cultivate the dharma of the twelve links of dependent origination; by completely severing ignorance, they can escape the birth-and-death saṃsāra of the three realms, and after extinguishing themselves they are never again born in the three realms—thus they attain liberation. Both of the above liberations are liberations that the five aggregates can only obtain through cultivation; they are not liberation that originally exists; they are non-ultimate and incomplete liberation. This liberation has no liberated form (mokṣa-rūpa), because ultimately the physical body must be extinguished; this liberation also has not severed all ignorance—the beginningless ignorance still has not been broken through, and the transformational birth-and-death (parināma-maraṇa) remains unresolved; the great matter of birth-and-death has not truly been resolved; therefore it is not ultimate liberation.
The Great Vehicle liberation is when bodhisattvas, through cultivating the six perfections of the bodhisattva, engage in Chan investigation and realize the tathāgatagarbha mind that is originally liberated; after seeing the mind and seeing the nature, relying on the free and unimpeded tathāgatagarbha, the five aggregates can also completely sever the ignorant afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion and eradicate craving for the world of the three realms; most importantly, they must also sever grasping on dharmas, and gradually can attain ultimate liberation, while life after life retaining a liberated five-aggregate body to benefit immeasurable sentient beings. Bodhisattvas must not only completely sever afflictions but can also completely sever the habitual tendencies of afflictions; the beginningless ignorance and the delusions as numerous as dust and sand must all be completely severed, and both segmented birth-and-death (pariccheda-maraṇa) and transformational birth-and-death must be completely severed; thus they realize the nirvāṇa of non-abiding at the buddha-stage and attain ultimate liberation. This is the true and final ultimate liberation; this liberation has liberated form (mokṣa-rūpa), with which the Buddha manifests countless bodies to broadly deliver those with affinity. And when one realizes the tathāgatagarbha, seeing the mind and seeing the nature, one knows that the tathāgatagarbha neither arises nor ceases, is not in the three realms, is not bound by the birth-and-death of the three realms, and is originally liberated; the five aggregates, relying on the tathāgatagarbha, are also originally liberated.
5. Śrāvakas Cannot Personally Realize the True Self, the Eighth Consciousness
Faith is not equal to realization; believing the Buddha's words is not equal to realizing the Buddha's words; believing that the five aggregates are without self is not equal to realizing that the five aggregates are without self; believing that the eighth consciousness is the true self is not equal to realizing that the eighth consciousness is the true self. Of course, faith also has levels: at the shallow level it is the faith of the mind consciousness; at the deep level it is the faith of the manas. Even if the manas believes, it is still not equal to realization; the gap between faith and realization may be large or small, depending on who is believing.
Śrāvakas, because they believe the Buddha's words, know that there is an indestructible true self, the eighth consciousness, but because of the limitation of their mental capacity they cannot personally realize it; once they personally realize it, they are bodhisattvas of Great Vehicle seeing the path. Śrāvakas are not the same as bodhisattvas. If a śrāvaka makes the vow not to enter nirvāṇa without remainder, he can be a bodhisattva of the shared teaching (通教), not a bodhisattva of the separate teaching (别教); only after realizing the eighth consciousness is he a bodhisattva of the separate teaching. When śrāvakas hear the Buddha's words, they know at that moment that there is an eighth consciousness that is the true self, but more detailed content they do not know. They have no actual contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) of the eighth consciousness, do not know what the real relationship between the five aggregates and the eighth consciousness is, and do not know how the eighth consciousness gives birth to and sustains the existence and functioning of the five aggregates.
After śrāvakas believe the Buddha's words, in meditative concentration they concretely and minutely contemplate the impermanent, suffering, empty, and selfless nature of the five aggregates and eighteen elements, finally reaching the conclusion that the five aggregates and eighteen elements are indeed suffering, empty, impermanent, and selfless. Thus they eradicate the view of self that takes the five aggregates as self, attain purity of the dharma eye, and have the initial meritorious benefit of liberation. Because śrāvakas have never actually contemplated the eighth consciousness and lack the ability to contemplate it, they cannot reach a definite conclusion as to whether the five aggregates are the eighth consciousness or not the eighth consciousness. Only Great Vehicle bodhisattvas, after realizing the eighth consciousness, can truly contemplate that this self of the five aggregates and eighteen elements is a perishable false self, indeed not the eighth consciousness. Before that, it is all believing the Buddha's words, trusting that what the Buddha said is true.
When bodhisattvas realize the tolerance of non-arising dharmas and possess the wisdom of the varieties of paths, they can gradually and truly observe that the five aggregates and eighteen elements are in fact also the eighth consciousness, part of the functioning of the eighth consciousness, and can directly observe how the eighth consciousness specifically perfuses the seeds of consciousness and the seeds of the four great elements, how it perfuses out karmic seeds, forming the continuous functioning of the five aggregates and eighteen elements. Only then do they gradually realize that all dharmas are the eighth consciousness, and that sentient beings are within the one true dharma realm. Before that, it is all similar understanding, inference, conjecture, imagination, and believing the Buddha's words—far from personal realization.
Because śrāvakas have not actually contemplated the eighth consciousness and have not personally realized it, they cannot reach the conclusion that the five aggregates and the eighth consciousness are neither identical nor different. This is a definite conclusion that only Great Vehicle bodhisattvas of personal realization can reach. If a śrāvaka can reach this definite conclusion, he immediately becomes a Great Vehicle bodhisattva of real meaning, a bodhisattva of the separate teaching.
Śrāvakas, through contemplative practice and investigation, realize that the five aggregates and eighteen elements are empty; this emptiness does not refer to the emptiness/voidness (śūnyatā) nature of the eighth consciousness. Śrāvakas lack this wisdom and can only realize the kind of emptiness that is destruction and ruin, the non-ultimate kind of emptiness. Only Great Vehicle bodhisattvas can realize that the five aggregates are the emptiness/voidness (śūnyatā) nature of the eighth consciousness, contemplating the entire body of the five aggregates as the emptiness/voidness (śūnyatā) nature of the eighth consciousness. Then one has entered the bhūmis and has the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only; the contemplative wisdom is very, very deep, and meditative concentration is also very, very deep.
Without actually realizing the eighth consciousness, one cannot directly observe whether the five aggregates are or are not the eighth consciousness; unable to observe the functioning of the eighth consciousness within the five-aggregate body, one cannot discern whether the five aggregates and the eighth consciousness are different or not different. What is imagined is not equal to realization; what is inferred is not equal to realization; believing the Buddha's words and repeating the Buddha's words is not equal to realization.
If one takes logical reasoning and inference as realization, then at the time of death the trouble is enormous. At that moment one will discover: everything is not what one usually imagined and assumed. No matter how one scrambles in panic then, it will be of no avail. Most terrifying of all, because one no longer believes the principles one previously studied and accepted, a mind that slanders the Buddha-dharma will arise, and then one will go to the evil destinies.
Even Great Vehicle bodhisattvas, whose main practice is the Great Vehicle, if they have not realized the Great Vehicle dharma, cannot truly observe what the relationship between the five aggregates and the eighth consciousness actually is, or how exactly the five aggregates are different or not different from the eighth consciousness. Reasoning cannot substitute for realization; otherwise, any worldly person with a bit of cleverness could realize the eighth consciousness and become a Great Vehicle bodhisattva—no need to take refuge in the Three Jewels, no need to cultivate precepts, concentration, and wisdom, and all those preparatory dharmas of the Buddha would be useless.
6. Śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddhas Do Not See the Emptiness of the Ultimate Meaning
Original text of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra: 中道者名为佛性。以是义故。佛性常恒。无有变异。无明覆故。令诸众生。不能得见。声闻缘觉见一切空。不见不空。乃至见一切无我。不见于我。以是义故。不得第一义空。不得第一义空故。不行中道。无中道故。不见佛性。
Explanation: The Middle Way is named the Buddha-nature; therefore it is said that the Buddha-nature is constant and permanent, without change or variation. Because ignorance covers the mind's eye, sentient beings cannot see the Buddha-nature. The practice of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas remains only within the phenomenal realm and cannot transcend beyond the phenomenal realm, so they can only see the emptiness of all dharmas within the phenomenal realm, and cannot see the non-empty Buddha-nature beyond the phenomenal realm. Moreover, śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas can only see that all dharmas in the phenomenal realm are without self, but cannot see the Buddha-nature self beyond the phenomenal realm. Therefore śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas cannot realize the emptiness of the ultimate meaning. Because they cannot realize the emptiness of the ultimate meaning, śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas are not walking the Middle Way. Because there is no Middle Way, they do not see the Buddha-nature of the Middle Way.
For the Middle Way nature of the Buddha-nature, refer to the Middle Way nature of the tathāgatagarbha taught by the Buddha in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra. Both the tathāgatagarbha and the Buddha-nature are existent dharmas, truly existing; their essence is not empty, while their nature is empty. Because of ignorance, sentient beings cling to the phenomenal dharmas of the mundane world and lack the wisdom to investigate the real and true dharma behind the phenomenal realm, and thus cannot realize the tathāgatagarbha and the Buddha-nature.
Śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas also have the ignorance regarding the Great Vehicle dharma; they too have not investigated the real and true dharma behind the phenomenal realm and cannot personally realize the tathāgatagarbha and the Buddha-nature. They only see the emptiness of the phenomenal realm and do not see the non-emptiness of the true dharma behind it, not knowing that it is precisely because of the non-emptiness of the first meaning of the true dharma that the emptiness of the phenomenal realm can exist. Therefore their practice leans toward emptiness and lacks the Middle Way. And that true dharma is precisely the essence of sentient beings, their original face—that is, the self of sentient beings, the true self. From the true self is derived the false self of the five-aggregate world, and the false self is not the self. Therefore the emptiness of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas is not ultimate, and thus not the Middle Way; it is deviated, leaning toward pure emptiness, with emptiness and existence unable to be perfectly harmonized.
7. Arhats Cannot Sever the Habitual Tendencies of Afflictions
Ālayavijñāna, vipāka-consciousness (异熟识), and undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna)—these three names all represent the eighth consciousness, the tathāgatagarbha. The reason the names differ is that the karmic seeds they contain differ. The change of karmic seeds indicates that the ignorance that brings birth-and-death has been lightened to a considerable degree, or has been completely extinguished. Among these, the name Ālayavijñāna represents the presence of segmented birth-and-death (pariccheda-maraṇa), with evil karmic seeds still very heavy and numerous. When there is no segmented birth-and-death but there is still transformational birth-and-death (parināma-maraṇa), that is when all manifest afflictions have been completely severed, evil karmic seeds have been eliminated, and the segmented birth-and-death of the three realms is no longer invoked—that is the realm of the arhat of the fourth fruit of the Small Vehicle, and at this time the tathāgatagarbha is called vipāka-consciousness. What name the tathāgatagarbha should be called depends on the karmic seeds of birth-and-death it contains, on whether the afflictions have been completely severed, and on whether the habitual tendencies have been completely severed. The minimum standard for the vipāka-consciousness is the complete severance of afflictions; the highest standard is not only the complete severance of afflictions but also the severance of a considerable degree of habitual tendencies, which indicates that at the same time one must also have the consciousness-only seed-wisdom of an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva.
Because arhats have completely severed afflictions, they no longer have segmented birth-and-death—that is, no more saṃsāra through the six destinies of the three realms. Although they no longer transmigrate in the six destinies, they still have the sage identity beyond the six destinies and the practice site of cultivating the path; with this identity they continue to cultivate in the three realms until buddhahood, without leaving the three realms. Therefore, when arhats completely sever afflictions, they escape the segmented birth-and-death of the six-destiny saṃsāra, and the Ālayavijñāna is renamed the vipāka-consciousness; their liberation level is equivalent to that of an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva, except that the habitual tendencies have not yet begun to be severed. Although eighth-bhūmi bodhisattvas sever habitual tendencies, they have not yet severed them completely; not being completely severed, there is still transformational birth-and-death, and their tathāgatagarbha is also called the vipāka-consciousness.
From this we can see that birth-and-death comes from afflictions and the habitual tendencies of afflictions, and the aim of practice is to sever afflictions and sever habitual tendencies—whether Great Vehicle or Small Vehicle practice, the goal is the same. It is only that Small Vehicle practice can only reach the level of completely severing afflictions but cannot sever habitual tendencies; then one must continue to advance in the Great Vehicle, hoping to completely sever all ignorance and attain the fruit of buddhahood. Because the principle of the Small Vehicle dharma is not deep enough and not ultimate enough, it cannot guide practitioners to sever habitual tendencies, whereas the Great Vehicle dharma principles are progressively deepening, subtle and fine to the utmost, with nothing omitted, and can guide practitioners to completely sever all ignorance and habitual tendencies and ultimately become a Buddha. After understanding this principle, in studying and practicing Buddhism one must constantly examine and introspect on one's own mental nature, checking whether afflictions have lessened and whether the mind has become a bit purer. Do not take the theories one has learned as ultimate; theory serves the severing of afflictions and habitual tendencies. Once the habitual tendencies are completely severed, all theories have no further use.
After an arhat emerges from nirvāṇa without remainder, among the six perfections of the bodhisattva, apart from lacking the wisdom of the Great Vehicle tathāgatagarbha, merit is also insufficient, and the Great Vehicle precept conduct is also not complete; but if he were to cultivate them, he should be able to complete them quickly. Once an arhat awakens and realizes the tathāgatagarbha, his stage would no longer be the seventh abode (七住位) but should be around the first bhūmi; entering the first bhūmi could be very fast—after all, he has already completely severed afflictions, and his meditative concentration is above the first dhyāna, so reaching the fruit of the first-bhūmi bodhisattva is not too difficult. Bodhisattvas above the first bhūmi have not yet completely severed afflictions and are inferior to arhats in liberation wisdom and meditative concentration, but their merit is enormous, which arhats are far from matching; as for who ultimately attains buddhahood first, that is hard to say.
Generally speaking, the ultimate fruit of the Small Vehicle corresponds to the liberation wisdom realization level of an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva of the Great Vehicle, but it lacks the eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva's profound consciousness-only seed-wisdom, and there has been no transformation of consciousness into wisdom. In terms of wisdom, arhats differ enormously from eighth-bhūmi bodhisattvas, and also enormously from first-bhūmi bodhisattvas; even the wisdom of non-arising of the Great Vehicle differs greatly from that of bodhisattvas at the three stages of virtuous practice (三贤位). If a practitioner only cultivates Small Vehicle liberation and does not cultivate the Great Vehicle, his liberation is still non-ultimate; the great matter of birth-and-death is ultimately not truly resolved—although he can attain nirvāṇa, there is still birth-and-death.
