Compilation of Daily Discourses

Chapter 6: The Practice

I. Manifestations of the View of Self

Some people, having done a little good deed, go around proclaiming it everywhere, clucking and cackling like a rooster—what hidden virtue is there left to speak of? What merit can still be mentioned? If one can benefit others, even if it is just making someone smile, even if it brings others only a tiny bit of benefit, it is all as it should be, nothing worth making public. Once it is made public, the wholesome retribution has already been received and is gone, and the greater wholesome retribution of future lives cannot be obtained—this is equivalent to the hidden virtue being gone, for hidden virtue is the wholesome retribution received in future lives. Only if one wishes to set an example for others, in order to influence and inspire them to also do good and practice virtue, should one make one's wholesome deeds known to all.

Yet some people, before even beginning to do something, broadcast it everywhere with loudspeakers, enjoying in advance others' envy, respect, praise, and pursuit—this is like taking out a high-interest loan to consume in advance, very unwise. Why does this happen? Because there is a severe view of self, there is severe vanity, wanting to attract others' attention, taking oneself, others, the matters involved, and the credit all as real, and grasping them severely. Once you understand what the self and the manifestations of the view of self are, then as soon as someone acts, as soon as their bodily, verbal, and mental actions appear, you can discern whether that person's view of self is severe or slight, whether they have eradicated the view of self, and how far they are from eradicating it. In this way, those who impersonate sages will have nowhere to hide—and then who would dare come to the Sahā world to practice deception?

II. The Method for Eradicating the View of the Body

Question: Suppose the ownership of all the tiny particles (matter) composing the body is attributed to the Earth, and the ownership of the moving energy is attributed to the Sun. Setting aside the borrowed matter and energy, what remains is an empty, vacant state, not knowing what is oneself. Can such contemplation help eradicate the view of the body?

Answer: This method of returning things can help eradicate the view of the body; the Buddha taught it in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra. However, the material form within the body has been returned to the wrong owner—the Earth and the Sun are also material form, and they too have owners to whom they must be returned. If one takes the Earth and the Sun as the owners of material form, this is still a wrong view and cannot eradicate the view of the body. The owner of the material form within the physical body is the tathāgatagarbha; it is the tathāgatagarbha that uses the seeds of the four great elements to form the particles of the four great elements, and the particles continue to gather and accumulate, condensing into the physical body—from a single fertilized egg to the fetus's body, to the infant's body after birth, then continuing to condense into the body of a youth and adult, then the body of an elderly person, and finally the seeds of the four great elements return into the tathāgatagarbha, and the physical body perishes and disappears.

The entire process demonstrates that the tathāgatagarbha is the owner of material form; the physical body as a whole is something that is given birth to and changed, all empty, and therefore without self. In this way the view of the body can be eradicated. However, the process by which the seeds of the four great elements form the physical body cannot actually be contemplated in present practice. Although such contemplative practice could be carried out very thoroughly and exhaustively, when meditative concentration and wisdom are insufficient, it is still easier to eradicate the view of the body from the perspective of the Four Noble Truths.

III. If a Person of the Third Fruit Loses the First Dhyāna, Does the Fruit Itself Regress?

The Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra says that even if a person of the third fruit loses meditative concentration, the fruit does not regress. Because the root afflictions have already been eradicated and will not arise again, even if the branch afflictions arise, the mind will no longer truly have afflictions as before. The small afflictions that occasionally manifest are only at the level of the mind consciousness, not at the deep level of the manas; once they arise they quickly disappear—they are not real afflictions and do not affect that person's wisdom of liberation at all, and therefore do not affect the fruit. The root afflictions determine the wisdom of liberation and determine whether nirvāṇa can be attained. Whether root afflictions, once eradicated, can still arise—no examples are seen in the Buddhist sutras, nor encountered in real life, so it is uncertain; special cases cannot be ruled out.

The situation of the Hīnayāna third fruit and the Mahāyāna third fruit is different. Hīnayāna third-fruit people, because they rarely deliver sentient beings, are generally monastics with relatively few affairs, or almost no affairs at all; the sentient beings they contact are few and uncomplicated, so the mind can remain pure, meditative concentration is easy to maintain and not easily lost, and the fruit does not regress—though there may be special cases. Although a third-fruit person has the first dhyāna, it is not present at all times; one cannot always be in samādhi. Doing things within the first dhyāna is very difficult; when encountering matters that require too much mental effort and deliberation, one gets headaches and vexation. The first dhyāna is certainly there when sitting and when deliberately maintained; after rising from the seat, it may be maintained, or part of it may be lost. For example, there is no dhyāna while sleeping at night, and when thinking especially hard, the dhyāna diminishes.

So when the dhyāna diminishes and during sleep at night, can the fruit be maintained? Of course it can. One cannot say that a person is of the third fruit while awake but becomes a first- or second-fruit person or a worldling when asleep. So a temporary loss of the first dhyāna does not mean the fruit regresses. A first-fruit person has preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi), which is also easily lost, but the first fruit does not regress. Mahāyāna bodhisattvas at the seventh abode also have preparatory concentration, which is also easily lost, but their stage does not regress—this is called the "non-regressing stage" bodhisattva; they will not become worldlings. As for false seventh-abode bodhisattvas, the question of regression does not even apply, because they never actually entered the seventh abode at all.

Take another example: the Buddha attained buddhahood within the fourth dhyāna, possessing in full the four dhyānas, eight absorptions, and the cessation of perception and feeling. But the Buddha cannot always abide in dhyāna above the second dhyāna; in such dhyāna there is no awareness or perception, and one cannot live or deliver sentient beings. In his daily walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, the Buddha could only maintain the first dhyāna. An arhat liberated in both ways who possesses the four dhyānas and eight absorptions also cannot always be in dhyāna above the second dhyāna; in daily activities he may maintain the first dhyāna, or may not. But one cannot say that when not in the four dhyānas and eight absorptions, the Buddha is no longer the Buddha, or the arhat no longer an arhat. So when not in meditative concentration, the fruit does not change. Even if the Buddha taught the Dharma within the first dhyāna for a month, or even a year or a kalpa, without entering dhyāna above the second dhyāna, the Buddha's fruit would never regress. The Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment says: 譬如销金矿，一成真金体，不复重为矿。This means that the Buddha has already been refined from ignorance and afflictions into a Buddha and will no longer have ignorance and afflictions; the buddhahood thus never regresses.

Then, if the first dhyāna is lost for a long time, does the third-fruit person's fruit regress? This depends on the state of the wisdom that is maintained and on the specific circumstances of the bodily, verbal, and mental actions. Whether the fruit regresses must be judged by whether the root afflictions have become active, whether bodhicitta has regressed, and whether one still remains unattached to worldly fame, praise, and gain—it cannot be judged by meditative concentration alone. When an arhat returned to lay life and lost the fourth fruit, it was because slight afflictions of greed temporarily arose; later, weary of worldly life, he again went forth and reattained the fourth fruit. Third- and fourth-fruit people have eradicated afflictions and can no longer live a worldly life; even if they return to lay life, they will come back. To summarize: whether the fruit regresses should be judged by the fruit-virtue—check whether the third-fruit person's fruit-virtue has changed, and see whether their thoughts and conduct still accord with the virtue of a third-fruit person. The result of meditative concentration should be the eradication of afflictions and the birth of the wisdom of liberation. If this result remains unchanged and has not regressed, then the fruit does not regress.

The Mahāyāna bodhisattva's third fruit is harder to maintain than the Hīnayāna third fruit, because bodhisattvas prioritize delivering sentient beings: they contact many beings, have many affairs, and even more places requiring their attention; they are rather busy and have no time to cultivate themselves. Meditative concentration is the hardest to maintain, so losing it is normal. But a first-bhūmi bodhisattva is a bodhisattva of non-regressing practice. If the bodhisattva's practice of delivering sentient beings does not regress, still retains great bodhicitta, walks the great bodhisattva path without weariness, does not give rise to afflictions, does not seek worldly fame, praise, and gain, can relinquish self, devotes himself single-mindedly to the Buddhist cause, and the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only does not regress—then how could the first-bhūmi bodhisattva's fruit regress? If these fruit-virtues disappear, greed and hatred arise, and one engages in fame, praise, and gain, then the fruit has regressed.

A bodhisattva of the third fruit has only the first dhyāna and does not yet have recollection of past lives (pūrvanivāsānusmṛti). After death, when reborn in the human world, he will forget all the cultivation of his previous life, have no first dhyāna, and outwardly be no different from a worldling. Yet the manas is the same one as in the previous life; the manas's views, virtue, merit, and bodhicitta are the same as in the previous life, carried over into this life—even the power of concentration and wisdom may be very strong, so his mental conduct differs greatly from that of a worldling. Although the mind consciousness has been influenced by worldly dharmas and has become defiled, which will in turn influence the manas and create some unwholesome karma, this defilement is limited and slight; the purity of the manas plays the decisive role. Once he encounters the Buddha's teachings again, he will quickly awaken, rapidly eliminate these defilements, which will not become an obstruction on the path of cultivation, and he will quickly attain the third fruit again, see the mind again, and enter the first bhūmi.

So whether the third fruit regresses depends on whether the fruit-virtue remains; one cannot look only at meditative concentration alone. Meditative concentration serves to eradicate afflictions and induce wisdom. Since it has already served its function, it does not matter much if the concentration is lost for a period of time—one can quickly cultivate it back when needed. It is like a lighter that kindles the firewood: once the firewood is burning, it does not matter if the lighter's flame goes out.

IV. The Most Reliable and Dependable Dharma Gate of Practice

Question: For escaping saṃsāra, is it more certain to cultivate the eradication of the view of self and realize the fruit, or is recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) and rebirth in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī) more certain for escaping birth and death and saṃsāra? Is there a dharma gate that yields great returns for little effort and is relatively reliable?

Answer: The core idea of your question is: 1. How can one be certain of escaping saṃsāra and attaining liberation? 2. Is cultivating Pure Land recollection of the Buddha faster and more reliable than eradicating the view of self? In my view, the most reliable and dependable way to attain liberation and escape birth and death in saṃsāra is to attain, right now, the virtue and capability of the sages—to have body, mind, and world all like the sages: not only equal to the sages in views and insight, but also equal in meditative concentration and supernatural powers, equal in moral cultivation and mental disposition, equal in magnanimity, vows, and aspiration, and equally endowed with the four immeasurable minds of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. In short, one must be equal to the sages in every respect in order to be liberated and at ease like them, in tranquil nirvāṇa, unbound by karmic force.

The principles of the Four Noble Truths enable sentient beings to see through and see as empty the five-aggregate world of the Sahā world, and thereby let go of the various conditions of the Sahā world, single-mindedly recollect the Buddha, seek rebirth in the land of bliss, and have the mind resonate with the Pure Land—then rebirth is easy. If one has attained the direction of the first fruit or the first fruit itself, rebirth in the land of bliss is even more assured. Without the aid of the principle of the Four Noble Truths, recollection of the Buddha becomes absentminded, stuck in the various conditions of the Sahā world, wasting precious time in vain. So cultivating the Four Noble Truths and recollecting the Buddha are not contradictory; they can merge with and promote each other.

Realizing the fruit and seeing the mind both represent a state of mind that has departed from the worldling's cycle of birth and death. Reaching such a state means the virtue and capability are already very profound. Give this profound virtue and capability a name: define it as eradicating the view of self and realizing the fruit, define it as seeing the mind and seeing the nature, define it as the first fruit of srotāpanna through the fourth fruit of arhat, define it as the bodhisattva of the three virtuous stages, define it as the bodhisattva from the first to the eighth bhūmi. Even without giving any name or making any definition, as long as these virtues, capabilities, and virtues are complete, one has attained liberation and departed from the worldling's realm of birth and death in saṃsāra.

So no matter how sentient beings cultivate, no matter what they cultivate, as long as they can reach such a state, that is enough. Elevate body, mind, and world by eight degrees, by several levels, and the state one abides in at that very moment is the state of liberation. Changing body, mind, and world is fundamental; elevating one's own virtue and capability is fundamental; everything else is an accessory. If one cannot elevate one's own virtue and capability, cannot change one's own body, mind, and world, none of the other accessories will appear—so what use is there in clinging to accessories? By now you should know what the most reliable and dependable dharma gate of practice is.

All the various fruits manifested, attained, and retributions are realized by the tathāgatagarbha. On what basis does the tathāgatagarbha manifest these retributions? Based on the cultivator's mind—mental conduct, bodily, verbal, and mental actions. If the mental conduct is not there, if the bodily, verbal, and mental actions are not there, the tathāgatagarbha cannot manifest any attainment or retribution. How could there be the first through fourth fruits, the three virtuous stages, and bodhisattvas who have entered the bhūmis? How could there be rebirth in the land of bliss? No individual's definitions or preferences count for any of these retributions; only what the tathāgatagarbha manifests is real and true. So rather than disputing and haggling over fruits, it is more substantial to cultivate earnestly, down to earth, in accordance with the Dharma and with reason. V. How to Cultivate So As to Obtain a Human Body and Not Fall into the Three Evil Paths?

Eradicating the view of self, realizing the fruit, and seeing the mind and seeing the nature can exempt one from the karma of the three evil paths; resonating with the human realm, one can obtain a human body in future lives and not fall into the three evil paths. The Buddhist sutras say that one who fully keeps the five precepts can obtain a human body; if one can keep the five precepts completely without violation, and no major evil karma appears at the time of death, a human body is also assured. But what counts as keeping the five precepts well without violation? The transformation of mental disposition is a key; the elimination of karmic obstructions is a key; the completeness of merit is a key; subduing afflictions is a key; having the wisdom of emptiness is a key; having meditative concentration is a key. Precept, concentration, and wisdom can not only subdue and eradicate afflictions, transform mental disposition, and eliminate karmic obstructions, but also increase merit. Taken together, these factors can guarantee a human body.

Apart from this, if only one's merit and mental disposition resonate with the human realm, even without realizing the Path, one can still obtain a human body. According to Chan historical records, in the past some Chan practitioners, although they had not realized the Path, had very deep meditative concentration; at the time of death, by the power of concentration and the power of merit, they could directly take rebirth in the home of a certain layperson, and those with great merit could even seize the womb, being born before full term. Those whose concentration is deep enough to reach the fourth dhyāna can relinquish their life and leave at any time; even without seeing the Path they can achieve direct rebirth in the human and heavenly realms, and after seeing the Path, rebirth in the human and heavenly realms is even more assured, sparing them the suffering of the three evil paths.

As long as one strictly keeps the precepts without violation, attains preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) and the first dhyāna, is at the stage of investigating Chan, and has decent wisdom, then through this cultivation of precept, concentration, and wisdom one will have great merit and very light karmic obstructions—those with heavy karmic obstructions cannot cultivate to this stage, and neither can those with small merit. In this way rebirth in the human realm is assured, and one will not go to the three evil paths. What stage is this? It is the stage just before seeing the Path, equivalent to the direction of the first fruit, with cultivation approaching the first-fruit stage. The condition for obtaining a human body is that one's merit matches that of humans, that one's virtue, mental disposition, and power of wisdom also match those of humans, that there is no obstruction by major karmic obstructions, and that the karmic seeds of major evil karma have been eliminated or can no longer manifest—only then can one be reborn as a human.

Whether our group has anyone at the Mahāyāna Chan-investigation stage is not known at present, but there are people at the stage of contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) in preparatory concentration, eradicating the view of self; these people are roughly at the stage of the direction of the first fruit. This stage already guarantees rebirth as a human in the next life, continuing this life's cultivation—the cultivation can be said to be continuous, uninterrupted by the three evil paths. For example, Wei Ru in our group has meditative absorption (samādhi), has the white-bone contemplation, is complete in precept, concentration, and wisdom, has eliminated major karmic obstructions so they do not manifest, has transformed mental disposition, and has slight afflictive obstruction (kleśāvaraṇa) and afflictions—in future lives she can avoid the three evil paths and be reborn as a human to continue cultivation. Bai Xuexiang is even more so: her meditative concentration and Hīnayāna wisdom of emptiness are very deep, she is complete in precept, concentration, and wisdom, her mental disposition is purely wholesome and does not resonate with the three evil paths—in future lives it is impossible for her to go to the three evil paths to receive retribution.

There is also Lan Tian in the group, whose contemplative practice of the four foundations of mindfulness is quite good, whose mental disposition is kind and good, who has meditative concentration and deep wisdom, is complete in precept, concentration, and wisdom, has no obstruction by major karmic obstructions, has deep merit, has the bodhisattva disposition, and whose mental disposition does not resonate with the three evil paths—in future lives he too can be spared the suffering of the three evil paths, continuing to deeply plant wholesome roots among humans and planting the roots of virtue. This virtue is very important; it is the watershed between the three good paths and the three evil paths. A person without virtue cannot be a human. With these precedents of cultivation as models, everyone should have confidence in their own cultivation. As long as one cultivates along the correct track, attaining the direction of the first fruit is not too difficult, and the probability of obtaining a human body in future lives is still quite high.

VI. Actual Practice Is More Difficult Than Merely Studying Theory

In the internet age, with an explosion of theory, learning knowledge has become very easy, with almost no difficulty. The difficulty lies in actual practice. First, there are not many examples and experiences of actual practice to learn from; second, there is no one who has actually practiced and realized it to provide guidance; third, one must break through layer upon layer of obstacles and do it oneself—no one can do it in one's place; fourth, sentient beings' faculties are generally not very good, and the barrier of karmic obstructions is hard to pass, making it impossible to get a handle on putting cultivation into practice.

Here we focus mainly on actual practice, not on preliminary theoretical knowledge; we do not play at verbal gymnastics, nor go around debating for victory. Once one enters the stage of actual practice and has the foundation and knack of practice, even if one realizes nothing this life, it is not easy to fall into the three evil paths; in future lives, upon encountering the Buddha's teachings again, one will automatically enter the state of actual practice, and cultivation will be fast. I hope everyone cherishes this opportunity, no longer chasing after worldly and useless matters, and even less pursuing worldly pleasures—there is nothing truly enjoyable in the world. I hope everyone will be more mindful and increase the content of wisdom in their cognition.

VII. In Cultivation, Is It the Realm That Should Be Emptied, or Oneself?

What dharmas does "realm" include? The realm is the sense objects (viṣaya); the objects are all forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and dharmas that stand opposite my conscious mind, including all dharmas of people, affairs, things, and principles, including one's own and others' five-aggregate bodies. When faculties and objects contact, consciousness arises; where there is consciousness there is discrimination, and thoughts and mental activity arise. So in cultivation, is it the realm that is emptied or the self? The self is emptied first; once the self is emptied, the realm is emptied—not that once the realm is emptied the self is emptied.

If there is no realm, there is no self; if there is a realm, there is a self. What kind of cultivation is this called? If this too is called cultivation, then the non-Buddhists who cultivated the four dhyānas and eight absorptions and emptied the marks of the realm, leaving only the self—have they eradicated the view of self? Who can be emptier than those non-Buddhists? Those who cultivate the realm are, in fact, those who are turned by the realm; those turned by the realm are worldlings. Once the self is emptied, are there still sense objects? The objects are thereby emptied too. If you are not empty, all realms arise; if your mind is empty, all realms turn into nothing.

VIII. After the Mind Is Empty, Do Realms Still Manifest?

As long as sentient beings have the manas and have the five aggregates, the tathāgatagarbha will output karmic seeds and the seeds of the seven great elements, manifesting the dharmas needed by the five aggregates, and various realms will appear. All buddhas and bodhisattvas have the manas and the five aggregates; therefore all buddhas and bodhisattvas exist within all the realms of the world, broadly delivering sentient beings with affinity. But this in no way affects the buddhas' and bodhisattvas' realization of the mind's emptiness and their realized virtue of no-self. Because the mind being empty does not mean that all dharmas must be extinguished for it to be called an empty mind; rather, it means not taking any dharma as real, not pursuing any dharma, not clinging to any dharma—this is the mind being empty. The mind being empty means the mind empties the dharmas, not falling into existence, not that the dharmas are extinguished while the mind remains. If all dharmas were to be extinguished, first the manas would have to be extinguished, and then the five-aggregate body would also have to be extinguished; that sentient being would disappear, and then the dharmas would vanish along with it. In that case, this person would be gone—unable to cultivate the Buddha's Dharma, unable to become a Buddha. Some arhats did exactly this at the time of death. But before the time of death, the arhat's manas and five aggregates still exist, and the tathāgatagarbha must manifest all the dharmas the arhat needs to exist, including realms.

The key point of this question is: what is the mind being empty? The mind being empty is seeing dharmas as empty and contemplating them as empty, not extinguishing dharmas so that they are empty and nonexistent. Many people misunderstand the mind being empty, thinking that empty means nonexistent. In fact, the mind being empty means that no matter what dharma appears, the mind knows the essence of the dharma is empty, and therefore does not pursue or cling to dharmas, nor give rise to afflictions.

If empty means nonexistent, then when someone thinks they have become empty, do they still eat and do things? Does the physical body still have any activity? Have they extinguished themselves? Those who think they are empty—why do they still speak with their mouths, why do they still type with their hands? Isn't being empty supposed to mean nonexistent? This is a great misunderstanding. The Buddha is the most thoroughly empty, yet the Buddha also had the activities of the five aggregates and also taught the Dharma within realms, broadly delivering sentient beings. Moreover, he taught the dharma of the five aggregates and taught the world's formation, abiding, decay, and emptiness. Did the Buddha teach this because he acknowledged the five aggregates as real? Because he acknowledged the world as real? Neither. The Buddha taught the five aggregates so that sentient beings could correctly understand the five aggregates and, through cultivation, realize that the five aggregates are all empty; the Buddha taught the world so that sentient beings could correctly understand the world and, through cultivation, realize that the world is illusory, thereby attaining the mind's emptiness. So the mind being empty refers to a state of the mind, not making the realm empty. The realm is already empty to begin with; there is no need to empty it again. Cultivation is not cultivating the realm, but cultivating the mind—just empty the mind's clinging to the realm. Whether or not the mind is empty, realms still manifest; no matter what realm manifests, the mind must empty the realm, not thinking of it, not abiding in it, not clinging to it.

IX. The Arising of the Mindfulness Factor of Enlightenment Is the Prerequisite for Realizing the Dharma

The first of the seven factors of enlightenment is the mindfulness factor of enlightenment. It means that after studying a certain dharma, one understands the dharma, recognizes the dharma, and remembers the dharma. Once the dharma has entered the mind, the mind has the dharma; in daily life one can recollect and hold the dharma, think of the dharma, contemplate the dharma, and upon encountering sense objects can observe the dharma as it really is—this is the prerequisite for realizing the dharma. If even one link or step in the middle is missing, the mindfulness factor and the seven factors of enlightenment are not complete, and the dharma cannot be realized. And once the dharma has entered the mind and can be recollected and held, one no longer needs to study the dharma every day with one's hands never leaving the book; otherwise the mindfulness factor has not arisen. So at what stage of studying Buddhism and cultivating can one have the mindfulness factor of enlightenment?

What kind of person, after finishing studying the dharma, no matter how they study, cannot get it into the mind, cannot remember it, cannot recall it, and must rely on books to understand the dharma and contemplate the dharma taught in the books? Those who have not yet given rise to the mindfulness factor have little impression of or interest in the dharma—it is just like this; their power of mindfulness is very poor. Only after interest has been raised, after one knows the importance of the dharma, can the mind now and then hold the dharma in mind.

For example, after studying the Hīnayāna dharma that the five aggregates are without self, with the book in hand one knows that the six sense objects of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma are all empty, false, and unreal. But after leaving the book and turning around to encounter the realms of the six objects, when seeing forms one is still very picky, very concerned, wanting the best, unwilling to suffer the slightest grievance; when hearing sounds one is still very picky, very concerned; when smelling odors, still very picky, very attached to fragrance and stench; the same with touches and dharmas—very picky and attached, completely forgetting that one was just reading the sentence that the six sense objects are illusory and unattainable. These phenomena show that this person has not taken the dharma of the emptiness and falsity of the six objects into the mind, lacks the capacity for recollection, cannot contemplate and observe, and the mindfulness factor has not yet arisen. Then when will such a person realize the impermanence and non-self of the six objects? There is no date—perhaps in the year of the donkey, perhaps in the month of the horse.

X. Does Diligent Study of the Dharma Count as Cultivation?

The Diamond Sutra says: 法尚应舍，何况非法。The Dharma is the pure and wondrous principles of the three treasuries and twelve divisions, belonging to the category of theory and knowledge. After these theories and knowledge have been realized in actual experience, and the corresponding ignorance has been broken through, they are no longer useful and must be abandoned. If retained in the mind, they can only obstruct the mind-consciousness, preventing the mind from being empty and unobstructed, merely adding the bondage of dharma. It is like using medicine to cure an illness: once cured, the medicine should be discarded; otherwise, clinging to the medicine itself becomes a disease. The non-Dharma opposed to the Dharma is ignorance—the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion. The scope of ignorance is extremely broad: any thought or view that is mistaken, unreasonable, and leads to unending birth and death is ignorance. These non-Dharmas must all the more be abandoned. Our entire process of studying Buddhism and cultivating is a process of continuously breaking through ignorance, until ignorance is extinguished completely; having reached the other shore, cultivation is no longer needed, and even the dharma principles must be emptied completely.

Thus the relationship between Dharma and non-Dharma is very clear: the two are the relationship of medicine and disease, of the antidote and the antidoted. The Dharma is used to counteract the non-Dharma; once the non-Dharma has been counteracted and is gone, the Dharma must also be abandoned. Then the mind is empty, pure, and eternally blissful, pure self. Since the Dharma is used to counteract ignorance, it is a tool and method of cultivation, while the object of cultivation is ignorance and afflictions, not the Dharma itself. The Dharma is principle; ignorance and afflictions are phenomena. Phenomena manifest in bodily, verbal, and mental actions, which are also phenomena, divided into wholesome, unwholesome, and neither-wholesome-nor-unwholesome. When the unwholesome is extinguished, the mind becomes purely wholesome and pure. So using principle to break through phenomena, to harmonize phenomena, to perfect all kinds of actions and characteristics—this is the goal and purpose of cultivation from beginning to end.

In the end, the Dharma in the mind must certainly be eliminated—but should the actions of phenomena also be eliminated? The phenomena of ignorance and afflictions must certainly be eliminated; after ignorance and afflictions are eliminated, the bodily, verbal, and mental actions become thoroughly pure, without defilement—thus all kinds of actions are perfected and the unsurpassed buddha-way is accomplished. But when the buddhas attain the way, they do not enter nirvāṇa without remainder; within non-abiding nirvāṇa (apratiṣṭhita-nirvāṇa), the perfected and pure actions must often manifest. Because the buddhas, in their causal stages, made vows to broadly deliver immeasurable sentient beings, after attaining buddhahood they must perfectly fulfill the various pure great vows made in the causal stages. Therefore the actions cannot be severed or extinguished, until sentient beings are all delivered.

Thus it is clear: only with wisdom, able to harmonize principle and phenomena and to perfect all kinds of actions, is one truly cultivating. What one can take pride in and display to others should be the pure bodily, verbal, and mental actions free of ignorance, not what dharma one has studied or how much dharma one has studied. Therefore methods and tools need not be shown to others; the result is what matters. Only by showing the result to others can one inspire, teach, and guide people onto the buddha-way of breaking through ignorance. It is like a healthy person: just showing others a healthy body is enough; there is no need to go around proclaiming that one has a cancer-curing drug, a leukemia-curing drug—being free of disease is what is worthy of pride. Using the Dharma to counteract the non-Dharma, fulfilling its proper function, eliminating ignorance, removing the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, extinguishing the two graspings of self and dharma—this is fundamental. If it does not work, then even recollection of the Buddha is non-Dharma; if it does work, then even the non-Dharma of the non-Buddhists is Dharma.

Now some people keep theory as theory and phenomena as phenomena, with no connection between the two—so what exactly is their cultivation cultivating? Many people think that studying Buddhism means studying theoretical knowledge, knowing a bit more Buddha-dharma, but they do not know what knowing the Buddha-dharma is for, nor what the goal and direction of cultivation is. If studying Buddhism is only for mastering theoretical knowledge, then even if one has learned five cartloads of books and become a doctor of Buddhology, one is still an ignorant sentient being, unable to attain the slightest liberation. Theoretical knowledge cannot make sentient beings become buddhas; clinging to principle while abandoning phenomena instead becomes dharma-grasping—bound by the dharma, increasing birth and death all the more. Such study of the dharma is foolish conduct and does not count as cultivation. Theory serves phenomena; once phenomena are perfected, theory is no longer useful and should be abandoned. What wise person would cling to theory all day while ignoring phenomena, putting the cart before the horse?

People attain liberation in phenomena, not in theory. Some people are truly inverted: they hold theory high aloft while committing great evil deeds, thinking that with theory in hand the goal is achieved and conduct can be ignored. But in reality, what is useful is phenomena; what needs to be perfected is phenomena; only when phenomena are perfected is one a Buddha. It is precisely in order to harmonize and perfect phenomena that one studies theory, using theory to guide actions, change actions, and perfect actions. If not for this, then burying oneself in the three treasuries and twelve divisions, diligently seeking—what is it all for? Studying for the sake of studying—is that not useless effort? Those who, having studied some dharma, look down on all beings—how foolish and inverted they are! If what they study cannot lessen greed, hatred, and delusion but instead increases ignorance, it would be better not to study at all; studying and studying, it becomes nothing but a scourge, making sentient beings misunderstand the Buddha-dharma and Buddhism—that is committing great evil karma. To summarize: study of the dharma that cannot harmonize with actions, no matter how diligent, does not count as cultivation.