Is Buddhist Practice a Matter of Technical Skill or Mind Cultivation? (Part 2)

If Buddhist study and practice were merely a matter of technical effort, why is it that some people diligently practice seated meditation day and night for thirty or fifty years yet still cannot attain the first dhyāna, while others manifest the first dhyāna within just a year or two? Some people experience enlightenment for thirty years yet still see no trace of the first dhyāna. However, others, not long after beginning their Buddhist study, upon encountering the theory and engaging in just a little contemplation, are able to realize various stages of fruition. Even though they may not yet fully understand many Buddhist terminologies, their insight wisdom has already arisen.

If Buddhist study and practice were merely a matter of technical effort, then are the Six Perfections (Pāramitās) of a Bodhisattva technical practice or cultivation of the mind-nature? Is the Perfection of Giving (Dāna) a matter of the technical level or the level of mind-nature? Is the Perfection of Morality (Śīla) a matter of the technical level or the level of mind-nature? Is the Perfection of Patience (Kṣānti) a matter of the technical level or the level of mind-nature? Is the Perfection of Meditation (Dhyāna) a matter of the technical level or the level of mind-nature?

What kind of wisdom does a person with poor mind-nature possess? Does such wisdom accord with that of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas? Diligence (Vīrya) includes right diligence and perverse diligence. Perverse diligence belongs to the technical level, while right diligence is the cultivation of mind-nature. Can those with ulterior motives truly derive genuine benefit from the Buddhadharma? The true mark of a Bodhisattva's accomplishment is the manifestation of loving-kindness (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), sympathetic joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekṣā). Without a transformation in mind-nature, one will never possess the mental actions of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, and the Bodhisattva stages can never be fulfilled.

Whose mind-nature is superior, that of an Arhat or a Bodhisattva? Whose spiritual practice is more advanced? Who is most favored by the Buddha? Who will attain Buddhahood first? Who engages in practice at the technical level, and who engages in practice at the level of mind-nature? Did the Buddha not criticize those focused solely on technical work as "withered sprouts and rotten seeds," fallen into the pit of inaction (apraṇihita-vāsanā)?

The ultimate result of Buddhist study and practice must be the possession of both virtue and talent; one must have talent, but even more importantly, virtue. If one lacks virtue, talent is merely crooked talent, which might be used for evil paths, creating unwholesome karma without even realizing it. There are many talented people in the world, but not all use their talents to create wholesome karma; many use them to create unwholesome karma. If talent is used to create unwholesome karma, it would be better to have no talent at all.

For those who study and practice Buddhism, virtue must occupy the foremost position. With virtue, one need not worry about lacking talent. If a person has only talent but no virtue, no matter how great the talent, it will not be used rightly. A person with virtue but no talent can be cultivated into one possessing both virtue and talent; with their Bodhisattva mind-nature and the Buddha's power blessing them, they can attain the Way quickly. Therefore, Buddhist study and practice is not merely a technical task; the most crucial aspect is the cultivation of mind-nature. A person who is selfless and without personal desire is a true Bodhisattva. If one's heart contains only oneself, only personal gain, if one is entirely self-centered, such a person is not a true Bodhisattva.

Technical practice is always many times easier than the cultivation of mind-nature. With technical skills, as long as one applies effort to study and research diligently, one can certainly extract some understanding and gain results from the texts. Coupled with intelligence and cleverness, one can acquire many technical skills. But what about mind-nature? Even a hundred years may not suffice to subdue the mind-nature; inherent nature is difficult to change. A Bodhisattva who masters technical skills but has not subdued their mind-nature is still not a true Bodhisattva, but merely a nominal, false Bodhisattva, an impostor, who can never fulfill the function of a Bodhisattva.

Many people painstakingly exert day and night in contemplation, study, and research, yet never examine their own minds. No matter how diligently they study the "science and technology" of the Buddhadharma, they cannot subdue their egoistic nature and selfishness, cannot truly eradicate the view of self, cannot genuinely realize the mind and attain enlightenment. Such people are not Bodhisattvas, even if they have mastered the "science and technology" of the Buddhadharma!

In this present age, how many people studying Buddhism are merely engaged in technical work, never applying effort to their own mind-nature? They develop technical skills, but their virtue falls short of their position. Wherever they go, they promote and assert the self, ultimately causing disorder wherever they are. Their study of Buddhism is merely for the sake of prominence, for asserting the self, never for subduing the self, not for inaction (wuwei), not for selflessness and liberation from the afflictions of their own minds. The more they study, the more high-profile they become; the more they study, the heavier the sense of self; the more they study, the more chaotic the world becomes, until finally, the very order of the world is disrupted. Many people study Buddhism solely to stand out, to climb upon the shoulders of others; they have never considered extinguishing the self, making the self vanish without a trace. Is this eradicating the view of self, or is it increasing the view of self? If Buddhism continues to develop in this way, it will end up plunging the world into chaos.

Therefore, if one truly wishes to cultivate oneself to fruition, one must grasp both aspects firmly. One must apply great effort in cultivating the mind-ground, taming oneself, and also apply great effort in contemplation, investigation, and realization, striving to become a true sage in the genuine sense.