Practice Must Be Pragmatic

Looking at the practice of the twenty-five sages in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, the cultivators of the past were very pragmatic in their practice. They did not study a great deal of theory; as soon as they had absorbed a little theory, they would immediately go into meditative concentration to engage in actual contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā). Their cultivation was centered mainly on meditative concentration and contemplative practice; cultivating samādhi and investigating took up more than eighty percent of their practice. Their cultivation was very solid and grounded, so they were able to quickly realize the truth and attain meditative absorption (samādhi), achieving realization rapidly. Many realized the truth, but few expounded upon it.

People today are just the opposite: they devote more than ninety percent of their energy to studying theoretical knowledge. They are strong in reciting and memorizing, yet lack the ability to cultivate independently. They do not like to cultivate meditative concentration, and their minds are so scattered and chaotic that they cannot develop dhyāna. Their contemplative practice relies solely on the emotional speculation and intellectual understanding of the mind consciousness. They believe that knowing a lot means possessing the Way, and that knowing a similar-sounding answer counts as realization—entirely unaware of what consequences follow from being a mere follower of the school of intellectual understanding, or from "counting others' grain without ever eating one's fill." Then they write books and establish doctrines, widely gathering disciples, giving not the slightest thought to whether they might mislead the young or lead sentient beings astray. This is the result of the restless minds and shallow thinking of sentient beings in the Dharma-ending age. Look around: everywhere there are eloquent talkers who expound the truth, but one can hardly find a practitioner who has actually realized it. The less merit sentient beings possess, the more severe these phenomena become. Speaking too much about such matters invites hatred and curses. To restore the old ways and follow the cultivation footsteps of the ancient immortals is extremely, extremely difficult. Hardly anyone can recognize that Buddhism faces a great crisis, or how serious these unhealthy phenomena are.