Sitting in meditation cannot make one a Buddha — can one become a Buddha without sitting in meditation?

Some people understand the meaning of "sitting meditation cannot make one a Buddha" in a one-sided way, thinking that since sitting meditation cannot make one a Buddha, they simply will not sit in meditation. They go from one extreme of only sitting in meditation to cultivate samādhi to the other extreme of not sitting at all. Walking on extremes, of course neither can become a Buddha.

We should all know that becoming a Buddha requires many, many conditions and causes, and sitting meditation to cultivate samādhi is one of those causes and conditions for becoming a Buddha. With only the single condition of sitting meditation, one simply cannot develop wisdom or become a Buddha; a great many more causes and conditions are still needed. Therefore, one must not devote all one's time and energy to this single practice of sitting meditation; one must also study and reflect upon the theory, and also cultivate the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment, the bodhisattva's six perfections, and so forth. If one removes the condition of sitting meditation as well and stops sitting altogether, then one lacks yet another cause and condition for becoming a Buddha, and all the more cannot become a Buddha.

If you want your practice to be effective, you must attend to other aspects of cultivation as well, making overall arrangements and not neglecting one side. According to your own situation in practice, arrange your cultivation content reasonably; all the dharmas that should be cultivated must be cultivated in place, and you must not attend to one while losing the other, neglecting some aspects.