The Purpose of Learning Buddhism and Practicing Is to Make the Manas Confirm That All Dharmas Are Not the Self

Practicing and cultivating the Buddha's teachings means making the manas confirm that all dharmas are not the self. Once everything has been fully confirmed, one has arrived home and need cultivate no more. When He confirms a portion, one gains that portion of liberation; when He confirms everything, one attains ultimate and thorough liberation. Having a self is karmic obstruction; it is ignorance, for it is because of the self that all kinds of obstructions arise. Without self, there will be no more obscuration or obstruction.

Therefore, we should not constantly put our "self" on display, letting everyone see how lofty I am, how clever I am, how wise I am, how I surpass all of you, how I... Such conceit is very serious and can completely obstruct one's progress on the Path, so that one no longer advances and may even regress. I have met quite a few people who regressed from the Path because of conceit, losing the benefit of wholesome dharmas—this is truly an unwise course of action.