On Investigating the Final Word

The final sentence is the sentence that cuts off the entire stream of birth and death. What is the stream of birth and death, and how can it be cut off? To understand the final sentence, one must first ponder this question. Only after attaining the first dhyāna, after realizing the second fruit, and after passing through the contemplation of illusion and the contemplation of heat-haze, does one begin to investigate the final sentence, pass through the critical barrier of birth and death, become a person of the third fruit, realize nirvāṇa with residue (sopadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa), and thereby gain the ability to exit the stream of birth and death within the three realms.

The public cases and sentences concerning the final sentence are all like secret codes, pointing to the key to resolving birth and death. This requires one's own investigation; it cannot be plainly revealed by others. Even if it were plainly revealed, one would gain not the slightest benefit from it, and it would additionally block the gate of one's own awakening. Without the first dhyāna, without having passed through all the checkpoints, without having severed afflictions, it is impossible to investigate it out. Without the prior foundation, one cannot understand the final sentence. Those of the Small Vehicle must be persons of the second fruit, and those of the Great Vehicle can understand it to some degree only after passing through the contemplation of illusion and the contemplation of heat-haze, and then proceed to investigate it. If one does not cultivate meditative concentration (samādhi), it is impossible to realize any dharma. Without the first dhyāna, the contemplation of heat-haze is very difficult to realize, let alone the various subsequent contemplative practices (vipaśyanā-caryā).

One must understand, with regard to many dharmas, to what degree one's own comprehension has reached, and how great the distance actually is from realization. For some dharmas, if one comprehends them prematurely, it becomes very difficult to realize them later. When conditions such as meditative concentration are insufficient, it is best to keep them all wrapped up and not attempt to comprehend them; otherwise realization becomes impossible. If it is all mere comprehension, how can birth and death be brought to an end? There is also a difference between comprehension and comprehension-awakening; all of this one must understand oneself, and one must have the wisdom to judge and make choices. The Buddha-dharma absolutely cannot be treated vaguely—a discrepancy of a hair's breadth leads to an error of a thousand miles. It is just that serious.