All Bodhisattvas Should Clearly Understand the Path of Practice

A bodhisattva is clear and lucid about the dharma currently being cultivated, the dharma to be cultivated next, and the dharma to be cultivated after that; his wisdom can know the dharmas that should be cultivated over one kalpa, several kalpas, or even longer. Since a bodhisattva possesses wisdom, he must be perfectly clear about all dharmas—every approach to practice must be crystal clear, and he must know in his mind how to proceed step by step. If he is not clear about this, it is foolishness (moha), and he must then eliminate that foolishness through cultivation. Every bodhisattva can clearly know what level of cultivation he is currently at, which dharmas have been accomplished and which have not, and what dharma needs to be cultivated next and how to cultivate it—all with complete clarity. If he is not clear about this, it is foolishness: he lacks the wisdom he ought to possess at the present stage.

When a bodhisattva begins to cultivate, at the very moment he lifts his leg to take the first step, he is clear about which direction he should walk toward; he does not walk about carelessly in a muddle. If he walks carelessly, he may stray onto a wrong path without even knowing it. Such a muddled person is not a bodhisattva and is not yet qualified to be a bodhisattva. In particular, a bodhisattva who spreads the Dharma and leads the way for others must be all the more crystal clear in his mind about where he is leading sentient beings.