Only Through Non-Attainment Can One Attain Buddhahood

The Buddha stated in the Diamond Sutra that he attained Buddhahood precisely because he had nothing to attain, not even a single dharma. If one believes there is a dharma to be attained, one cannot become a Buddha. Why is this so? The Buddha attained Buddhahood through great wisdom, supreme wisdom. How did the Buddha’s wisdom come about? Starting as an ordinary being, the Buddha cultivated through three great asamkhyeya kalpas, gradually exhausting all ignorance. Each time a form of ignorance was eradicated, a form of clarity manifested. As the darkness in the mind diminished part by part, light appeared in its place, and this light is wisdom. When all ignorance is extinguished, all-knowing wisdom (sarvajñā-jñāna) arises. Therefore, the Buddha’s supreme wisdom, his unequaled wisdom, is not acquired or obtained; it manifests when ignorance is completely eradicated. In other words, becoming a Buddha does not mean gaining any dharma; rather, it means not attaining even a single dharma. By removing all obscurations, the innate luminosity of the mind naturally manifests. Thus, for each of us who learn the Buddha’s teachings and practice, the purpose is to eradicate ignorance, not to strive to attain something. The very mind that seeks to attain is ignorance itself, an obscuration that prevents wisdom from arising.

True right faith requires direct experiential observation and wisdom; otherwise, faith inevitably devolves into partiality and blind faith. Even regarding the Buddhist sutras, a truly wise person should maintain doubt and seek practical verification. How much more so for non-Buddhist teachings?

Many people online claim that the Sixth Patriarch was a Buddha returning to this world, that his teachings possess the realization of a Buddha, and that the Sixth Patriarch had already attained Buddhahood. I truly do not know on what basis these people make such definitive conclusions about the Sixth Patriarch. To assert that someone holds a professorial chair, one ought to surpass that professor’s level or at least be equally qualified to grant such certification. In this Dharma-ending age, sentient beings seem to have all become Buddhas themselves, then using their Buddha-wisdom to certify that the Sixth Patriarch had attained Buddhahood and possessed the wisdom and realization of a Buddha. The Sixth Patriarch’s Platform Sutra is a thin volume, yet I doubt any of these people truly comprehend it. Otherwise, no one would dare make such a definitive conclusion.