Only by Perfecting the Six Pāramitās of a Bodhisattva Can One Attain Enlightenment

In the gong'an of the World-Honored One holding up a flower and smiling, the Buddha held up a flower and smiled, and Kāśyapa understood. What Kāśyapa understood was not that the flower is subject to arising and ceasing, illusory and false; Kāśyapa understood the tathāgatagarbha—he found the mode of operation of the Buddha's undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna) in the Buddha's body, and thus he saw the mind and attained enlightenment. Gong'ans are meant to guide one to enlightenment, to seeing the mind, and to realizing the tathāgatagarbha. As for the flower the Buddha held, as well as all dharmas, they are all conjured forth by the tathāgatagarbha; they are illusory, arising-and-ceasing false appearances. Yet from within these false appearances, we can awaken to a truth; when we find that truth, we see the mind and attain enlightenment. 

To attain enlightenment and realize the true mind of the tathāgatagarbha, how should one cultivate? One must cultivate the bodhisattva's six perfections: generosity (dāna), precepts, patience, diligence, meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom. Generosity is the cultivation of blessings; we must plant blessings within the Mahāyāna Dharma. Only when merit has accumulated sufficiently can one become a bodhisattva endowed with a bodhisattva's merit who has seen the mind and seen the nature. Therefore merit must be cultivated; without merit, one cannot attain meditative concentration and wisdom either—merit is the foundation for cultivating all dharmas. After generosity comes keeping the precepts, because keeping the precepts can gather in the mind and keep it from scattering. By keeping the precepts, the mind becomes pure and does not create evil karma; once the mind is tranquil, meditative concentration can arise. When the power of concentration arises, one can abide in a state of meditative concentration, contemplating and investigating the Buddha-Dharma. Only in this way can one investigate the Buddha-Dharma thoroughly, attain realization of the fruits, and see the mind and see the nature.

What other conditions does seeing the mind and seeing the nature require? It requires prajñā wisdom—one must understand the nature of the tathāgatagarbha in order to know how to search for the tathāgatagarbha amid the operation of the five aggregates and all dharmas. One needs to clarify the nature of prajñā and the nature of the tathāgatagarbha. To search among the five aggregates and all dharmas, one must clarify the five aggregates—how they operate—and sort out the threads of their functioning. In this way, once the five aggregates are understood, the tathāgatagarbha is understood, and the six consciousnesses and seven consciousnesses are understood, then in a state of meditative concentration, investigating the tathāgatagarbha through the operation of the consciousness-mind and upon the five aggregates, when the conditions are complete, one can realize the tathāgatagarbha.

Generosity, precepts, patience, diligence, and meditative concentration, together with studying prajñā wisdom—when these conditions are complete, one can see the mind and see the nature. The Buddha-Dharma has already pointed out the path and direction for us; all that remains is for us to actually cultivate it ourselves. What does cultivation cultivate? Cultivate generosity and merit, cultivate diligent practice, cultivate meditative concentration, cultivate prajñā wisdom, and cultivate patience to transform the mind's conduct. When these contents are well cultivated, one can attain enlightenment.