Breaking Through Ignorance and Severing Afflictions Is the True Practice

Among the twelve links of dependent origination, the first four links—ignorance (avidyā), volitional formations (saṃskāra), consciousness (vijñāna), and name-and-form (nāma-rūpa)—show that the birth of name-and-form is the continuation of the suffering of birth-and-death in saṃsāra, and the suffering of the cycle of birth and death is entirely due to ignorance. Ignorance is foolish delusion; with foolish delusion there will be deluded karmic actions, prompting the six consciousnesses to continually create bodily, verbal, and mental actions of greed, hatred, and delusion—afflictive actions—storing seeds of unwholesome karma, and from then on the suffering of birth and death continues without interruption. Therefore, in cultivation one must break through ignorance and affliction; once ignorance is broken, wisdom is attained.

Ignorance and wisdom stand in opposition, like the two ends of a scale: when one is low, the other is high, simultaneously and in equal measure. Thus, when there is wisdom, there will be no affliction, and one will not create unwholesome, afflictive karma; when there is affliction, it reveals that there is ignorance in the mind. Any creation of affliction is due to the presence of ignorance and the absence of wisdom; with wisdom, one will not create any afflictive karma. Once someone creates afflictive karma and engages in bodily, verbal, and mental actions that are not in accord with the Dharma, it shows that this person's ignorance has not been broken and wisdom has not arisen, and the suffering of birth and death cannot be brought to an end.

The hallmark of accomplishment in studying Buddhism is breaking ignorance, severing affliction, and increasing wisdom—not how much theoretical knowledge one has learned. Learning theoretical knowledge is ultimately for the purpose of breaking through ignorance and severing affliction; apart from this aim, studying the Dharma has no meaning whatsoever. If you wish to end the suffering of birth and death, you must sever evil and cultivate good. Doing good leads toward wholesome destinies and liberation; doing evil leads to evil destinies and the suffering of birth and death. If ignorance is not broken and affliction not severed, no matter how much Buddhist knowledge one learns, it will be of no help in liberating oneself from the suffering of birth and death. Therefore, mastering a great deal of theoretical knowledge is not the direction of cultivation; breaking ignorance, severing affliction, and increasing wisdom—this is the true path.