The Problem of Relying on the Dharma, Not on Persons

If one has genuine realization and can engage in contemplative practice through direct perception, then one relies on the factual truth of all dharmas, not on any individual person. Only the factual truth is the true Dharma, the definitive Dharma. However, factual truth is not something ordinary people can know or realize, so ordinary people have no choice but to rely on the words of others. Yet the words of others all have flaws and deficiencies. Even the Buddha's words contain surface meanings (the words) and definitive meanings (the meaning), and ordinary people cannot distinguish between them; in that case, they cannot rely on the definitive meaning.

In short, only through genuine realization can one rely on a portion of the facts, and in the future gradually come to rely on the complete factual truth. Those of great wisdom are certainly like this. All Buddhas rely on factual truth; in particular, the first Buddha, Buddha Wēiyīn-wáng (Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja), relied entirely on truth realized through His own practice, for there was no one else He could rely upon. Therefore, we should still find ways to cultivate meditative concentration and engage in contemplative practice within samādhi, striving for genuine realization. Relying on people is ultimately unreliable. The Buddha warned His disciples: "Beware of trusting your own mind, for your mind is not to be trusted"—only upon attaining the fruit of an arhat may one trust one's own mind. Even quotations drawn from Buddhist sutras are not necessarily correct. If a bodhisattva's treatise, such as the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, is inconsistent with the Buddhist sutras, then the sutras should be taken as the standard. However, the sutras themselves are also stratified by level, and "relying on the meaning, not on the words" is very difficult; without genuine realization, it is hard to understand the true meaning. One can imagine in what state of mind the Buddha spoke the four reliances when He instructed them on the verge of His passing—how deeply worried He must have been?

If the Buddha has not certified a certain bodhisattva's level of realization as one that can be relied upon one hundred percent completely, then one cannot rely on that bodhisattva completely and one hundred percent. After all, bodhisattvas do not possess the full wisdom of a Buddha; their wisdom still has flaws and deficiencies. Even Bodhisattva Maitreya was once reproached by the Buddha for the inadequacy of His wisdom.

All the teachings spoken by bodhisattvas can certainly be relied upon, but not one hundred percent. Bodhisattva treatises surely contain some flaws and deficiencies, which those without the Dharma-eye cannot discern. Even the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra was not personally delivered by Bodhisattva Maitreya Himself when He came to the human world; rather, it was relayed through the mouth of an intermediate bodhisattva. If that bodhisattva's level of realization was not extremely high, his transcription could also contain errors. Thus, one sentence relayed by ten people may come to have ten different meanings. Therefore, every student of the Dharma should still devote careful effort to contemplative practice to eliminate the self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi), and then proceed to seeing one's true mind and awakening to the true mind and seeing one's own nature—that is the safer course.