The Importance of Direct Realization

Before many people attain enlightenment, they form all kinds of imaginings about the true suchness and Buddha-nature. But after enlightenment and personal realization, they discover that true suchness and Buddha-nature are actually like this—all along, they had misunderstood. What is heard and learned from elsewhere, plus the processing and elaboration of one's own mind consciousness, differs from reality by no small margin. Since beginningless kalpas, how many people have imagined it correctly? I believe not even a single one could exist. Therefore, what the manas personally verifies is the most reliable. To personally verify it, one must personally deliberate and ponder it; one cannot simply accept the results of the mind consciousness's thinking and take them as one's own conclusion of direct perception. This point is extremely important for studying Buddhism and cultivating practice.