Can a Mind of Attainment Attain the Fruit of Liberation?

There are always people who say to me: Master, I want to attain realization of the fruits, I want to see my true mind and awaken to my nature, I want to reach the seventh abode stage—how should I cultivate? Master, can you help me?

What kind of mental activity lies behind those who hold such thoughts? And how should I help them? Wherever there is benefit to be gained in the world, people flock to it eagerly; wherever there is benefit to be gained in Buddhism, people likewise flock to it eagerly. Why do sentient beings rush toward places of benefit? Because there is a self, there is what belongs to the self, there are dharmas, and there is grasping (upādāna)—therefore there is seeking. With a mind of self and a mind of seeking, one seeks benefits within the Buddha-dharma. Can such benefits actually be obtained? Only without self and without seeking is there fruit; with self and with seeking, whence comes any fruit?

Among those who study Buddhism, some believe there is fruit to be gained. Seeing the benefits of the fruits within the Buddha-dharma, they dash straight toward the place of benefit, ready to seize it. Can such people attain any realization of fruit? Why, then, do so many false fruits fly about everywhere these days? Having seized a false fruit with a mind of acquisition, how can one avoid falling into the three evil destinies? If the fruit in one's mind is not empty, if the benefits are not empty, if fame and gain are not empty, can one eliminate the self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi)? Without eliminating self-view, can one attain any fruit?

Only with no self, no person, no sentient being, and no life-span can one eliminate self-view and realize the fruit. Those who gain false fruits with a mind of acquisition only strengthen their self-view and self-grasping; the notions of self, person, sentient being, and life-span grow even heavier. This runs contrary to the Path, going against it. The Path is liberation; going against the Path is birth-and-death. The secular world is an arena of fame and gain, and in the eyes of some people, the Buddhist world is likewise an arena of fame and gain. Chasing fame and gain within Buddhism only leads one further toward birth-and-death.