The Six Paramitas Are the Foundation of Zen Meditation

Sudden enlightenment is predicated on gradual cultivation. Anyone who experiences sudden enlightenment must undergo a process of gradual cultivation, whether long or short. Without gradual cultivation, there can be no sudden enlightenment. To attain sudden enlightenment, one must lay a solid foundation, and the six perfections (paramitas) of bodhisattvas serve as this foundation and prerequisite. To become a bodhisattva, one must possess the corresponding qualities of a bodhisattva; one cannot become a bodhisattva without cause. Resolving the great matter of life and death accumulated over countless kalpas is no simple task; it necessarily requires paying a corresponding price to accomplish.

Once these conditions are met, sudden enlightenment is certain, because enlightenment has no quota restrictions. In worldly affairs, good things are often limited, and perhaps require opportunism or backdoor dealings to achieve. However, the Dharma of enlightenment and mind-realization is not like this; whoever meets the conditions can awaken to the truth, and others cannot prevent it. Therefore, one must diligently cultivate oneself, perfect oneself, and draw closer and closer to the sages and virtuous ones, until finally entering their ranks.

Many Buddhists today exhibit an impatient temperament. They neglect laying the foundation, do not cultivate the six perfections, and directly engage in Chan meditation, expecting immediate enlightenment. The mindset of many is like wanting only the seventh floor of a building without the first and second. The World-Honored One repeatedly emphasized the six perfections of bodhisattvas, the paramount importance of merit and virtue (punya) and precepts (sila), and the crucial necessity of subduing the mind. Yet, Buddhists disregard these, seeking only the ultimate wisdom (prajna). This is impossible to attain. The acquisition of wisdom requires certain prerequisites: sufficient accumulation of merit and virtue, observance of precepts, and the consequent attainment of concentration (samadhi). Only then can wisdom (prajna) arise.

We cannot focus solely on the practice of principle and wisdom while neglecting the foundational practices of merit, virtue, and precepts. Such practice cannot lead to accomplishment. We must have faith in and accept the Buddha's words. What the Buddha instructs us to do, we must strive diligently to achieve. Taking refuge, receiving precepts, upholding precepts, and subduing the mind are all extremely important. We cannot discard these conditions and expect to directly attain the fruit. A person heavily defiled by worldly attachments cannot become a sage. The gap between a practitioner and a sage cannot be too vast. Therefore, one should uphold the five precepts, the eight precepts of abstinence, and the bodhisattva precepts. Only when the mind is slightly detached from worldly dharmas can one realize the Way and enter the ranks of the sages.