The View of Principle and the View of Phenomena

The highest realm of Buddhist cultivation and realization is the Buddha's perfect integration of principle and phenomena, and the perfect integration of all phenomena—where all phenomena are unobstructed and all accord with principle; principle can manifest phenomena, and phenomena can manifest principle, with principle and phenomena never falling out of step. To achieve this, one must begin from the very first seeing of the Path in Buddhist cultivation and realization, and continue until the final seeing of the Path and attainment of buddhahood. The Path seen before and after gradually deepens in transformation—that is, the principle seen becomes ever more profound and subtle, and the phenomena likewise become ever more integrated and complete. From the moment of the first seeing of the Path onward, phenomena follow principle in their conduct: wherever principle goes, phenomena follow, never falling out of step, until the Buddha's final seeing of the Path, when He awakened to the Way upon beholding the morning star—principle was then complete, and all phenomena instantly became complete along with it. Neither principle nor phenomena needed any further cultivation, and He became the supreme and venerable Dharma King.

Seeing the Path is divided into seeing on the level of principle and seeing on the level of phenomena. What is the difference between seeing principle and seeing phenomena? Seeing on the level of principle is going from principle to principle: at the level of the conscious mind, one has fully understood and clearly comprehended the principle, but the phenomena do not follow along—at this time, phenomena and principle are out of step. Because the manas has not seen it, the samādhi state in which meditative concentration and wisdom are complete and integrated does not appear, and phenomena do not follow along with it. Phenomena are controlled by the manas; the conscious mind cannot make phenomena follow along and become integrated.

Seeing the Path on the level of phenomena, however, means investigating and realizing principle through phenomena. When the Path is seen this way, phenomena will necessarily accord with principle, phenomena will necessarily follow principle, and principle and phenomena will necessarily be able to merge together without falling out of step. Only from this point can one be truly transformed—reborn, with the mind washed clean and the countenance renewed. Outwardly, the person is still the same person, but in terms of mental conduct, the old ways of acting are no longer present; one's thinking and character are completely renewed, the mind is empty of self; the unconditioned is manifested within the conditioned, and the unconditioned in turn serves the conditioned—empty yet not empty, not empty yet empty.

Therefore, true seeing of the Path is the seeing and entering into principle that has been thoroughly investigated through phenomena—a realization of principle in which phenomena follow principle and phenomena manifest principle, where principle and phenomena are not separate and meditative absorption (samādhi) follows along. When principle and phenomena merge, it is not necessarily perfect integration, nor necessarily unobstructed, because the principle is not yet thorough; when the principle is thorough, one becomes a Buddha. Seeing principle through phenomena is realization; not seeing principle through phenomena is not realization. If principle remains merely principle and does not merge with phenomena, that principle cannot resolve phenomena; a principle that cannot resolve phenomena has no practical use. Therefore, merely knowing principle, without seeing and manifesting principle through phenomena, is not genuine realization.