The Dangers of Crash Courses for Attaining the Fruit and Seeing the Mind

The path of bodhisattva practice is long; why be concerned with momentary speed or slowness before one's eyes? The goal is to be achieved over three incalculable eons. As long as one completes the Buddha-way most swiftly within those three incalculable eons, one is the winner. It is like a ten-thousand-meter long-distance race: what wise person cares about being ahead or behind within the first hundred meters? Setting up a long-term plan and arrangement according to one's physical capacity, and ensuring one reaches the finish line first—that is what is fundamental; everything else is unimportant.

When a person lacks long-term consideration, worries are sure to be near at hand. The more long-term the goal, the broader the wisdom, the more expansive the breadth of mind, the more magnificent the magnanimity, the loftier the aspiration, the stronger the legs, and the more abundant the confidence. Do not be concerned with momentary speed or slowness, or with winning and losing.

In today's Dharma-ending age, there are not so many people of bodhisattva disposition, not so many good vessels for the Path, so absolutely no crash courses for swift attainment of realization and seeing the mind may be conducted. Over these past two years I have observed certain phenomena and have become somewhat alerted: crash courses do people great harm; what they produce are all shoddy, counterfeit products, harming the normal and orderly development of Buddhism.

Many people cannot find the true point of entry for genuine practice and realization—this is a normal phenomenon, showing that their causes and conditions for practice and realization are not yet mature. As they bump about here and there, they gradually mature themselves, gradually grow their roots of goodness and merit, as well as meditative concentration and wisdom, perfect their qualifications as bodhisattvas, and cultivate the bodhisattva disposition and virtue. At the very least, one must have the moral cultivation of being a proper human being and have a human personality; otherwise, how could one serve as a bodhisattva to lead sentient beings? If sentient beings are all led into the mire without anyone being aware of it—near vermillion one becomes red, near ink one becomes black—sentient beings unknowingly become steeped in bad habits, yet believe it to be bodhisattva conduct; such consequences are also very frightening.

I have observed some seekers of enlightenment whose character is extremely vile, who simply do not know how to be a proper person and do not even wish to be good people. If all such people were to find the point of entry for practice and realization, all know the final result, and all become so-called bodhisattvas in name only, then what would Buddhism develop into in the future? It is truly frightening to think about.

The more one wishes to swiftly see the mind, become enlightened, and attain realization, the less one should attain enlightenment, because those with such an urgent mind all have impure motives; the bodhisattva disposition is still insufficient, and the disposition of seeking nothing has not yet been cultivated. Once such a person attains enlightenment, they will seek even more, and the mind craving fame and gain will become uncontrollable. Therefore, regarding matters of practice, I advocate letting things take their natural course—when water flows, a channel forms naturally. For those whose causes and conditions are mature, it cannot be held back even if one tries; they will certainly awaken naturally, and naturally they are bodhisattvas.

With swift attainment of realization and seeing the mind, the accumulation of merit is insufficient, karmic obstructions have not yet been eliminated, and afflictions have not yet been subdued. Once one approaches realization and seeing the mind, karmic obstructions will emerge to obstruct, and afflictions will arise to hinder; with obstacles upon obstacles, it is extremely easy to regress in bodhi and the mind for the Path, leaving no strength for subsequent practice. Therefore, when causes and conditions are not yet mature, one absolutely must not take action to guide them, absolutely must not pluck unripe melons, lest one harm others, harm oneself, and harm Buddhism.

If Buddhism conducts crash courses, it can only run crash courses in disposition, crash courses in the mind for the Path, crash courses in humanity, and crash courses in meditative concentration; it absolutely must not run crash courses for attaining realization or crash courses for seeing the mind. If disposition cannot be achieved quickly, if humanity cannot be achieved quickly, if the mind for the Path cannot be achieved quickly, and if meditative concentration cannot be achieved quickly, how could realization and seeing the mind possibly be achieved quickly?

So many people have come to me pouring out their grievances, saying that they have no point of entry in their practice, do not know how to investigate Chan and see the mind, and do not know how to engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) to attain realization. Thinking about it now, that is exactly right—not knowing is normal, and having no point of entry is normal. After a period of arduous tempering, when causes and conditions mature, one will come to know and understand everything.