Comprehending the Sect is More Important than Comprehending the Doctrine (25/9/8)

Shi Ruyuan: Recently I’ve realized that this samadhi isn’t just uninterrupted during walking, standing, sitting, or lying down—primarily, the samadhi arising at night feels deeper than during the day. Whether day or night, the clearer my mind becomes, the more distinctly I perceive the Dharma principles within samadhi. In the Mahayana prajna, I can increasingly recognize and experience its function and subtle utility—formless yet truly existent, capable of giving rise to all dharmas, countless dharmas. As long as I abide in deep samadhi, I can experience its true and indestructible nature.

I’ve discovered that it’s not merely deep meditative concentration that allows direct observation; the more continuously I dwell in samadhi, the more I experience the presence of its formless yet real power. Without abiding in samadhi, it’s impossible to directly perceive the formless, real, and impartial operation of its nature. Sentient beings who do not cultivate meditative concentration cannot give rise to the eye of prajna wisdom and thus cannot directly observe how the self-nature mind is as profound as the ocean’s waters—they can only recognize the foam born from the ocean’s surface. By abiding in samadhi, one can directly recognize and distinguish that sentient beings and all dharmas are like drops of foam in the ocean, inseparable from the ocean’s power and function; without it, there would be no foam to speak of. Therefore, without cultivating meditative concentration, there is no eye of prajna wisdom; one can only use mundane eyes to recognize scattered foam, unaware of the unfathomably deep ocean, unaware of the Tathagatagarbha’s formless yet real impartial functional subtle Dharma. No dharma appearance within the Ten Dharma Realms exists apart from being born and operated by the Tathagatagarbha. In summary, apart from the operation of the Tathagatagarbha, nothing exists at all.

The deeper the meditative concentration, the clearer the mind becomes, and the more distinctly the principles of prajna manifest. The body and mind can feel profound stirrings, filling the heart with gratitude and excitement. I am grateful to you, Master, for carefully teaching us to cultivate meditative concentration, enabling me to attain such supreme and unparalleled wisdom-samadhi power. I constantly think of sharing the Dharma principles realized through meditation, and while my understanding is clear, the moment I try to express it, words fail me—it feels like speaking would distort it, like a mute person dreaming, unable to convey the dream’s realm in words. It’s like drinking water—only the drinker knows if it’s cold or warm—unable to express the experiential sensations. Many times I’ve wanted to pick up my phone to record it, but I didn’t know where to start, so I gave up repeatedly.

Lately, during sitting meditation or sleep, many inconceivable states have arisen. Twice I dreamed that you, Master, returned to instruct us with a few words, but upon waking, I forgot them. Once, while contemplating Dharma principles, my heart and mind felt weary, so I listened to the Buddha’s name, intending to sit quietly for a while, and unintentionally entered emptiness-samadhi. I didn’t check the time and had no idea how long I’d been in samadhi when suddenly, loud recitations of Amitabha Buddha’s holy name burst from my mouth one after another, startling me out of samadhi. Upon emerging, my mouth kept trembling uncontrollably, and my body felt as if in a dream, unable to react. Now, day and night, I constantly abide in samadhi, with the Buddha’s name and contemplation of Dharma principles uninterrupted. I can also clearly see many dignified, compassionate Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and you, Master, all standing on different lotus pedestals—you, Master, stand to the left of the Buddha.

Commentary: The sect gate is the prajna gate. Ruyuan has entered it and can continuously observe directly; her wisdom is deepening, and she has penetrated the sect gate. However, regarding the teaching gate, Ruyuan is not yet proficient. Although her verbal and written expression has improved somewhat, there is still much room for growth. She needs to consciously strengthen her verbal and written expression and practice more to improve. Each person’s experiences during kalpas of cultivation differ, so their emphasis varies. Many people have strong verbal and written expression but have not penetrated the sect gate. Penetrating the sect is more important and more difficult than penetrating the teachings. The teaching gate only requires strengthening the function of consciousness; with more communication with sentient beings in the secular world, expressive power can easily be enhanced, and since language is frequently used, communication is not difficult. The sect is fundamental; the teachings are supplementary. When perfectly integrated, it becomes the perfectly harmonious wisdom of the ground-stage Bodhisattva’s sect-penetration and teaching-penetration. Of course, before the first ground, some Bodhisattvas possess a certain degree of relatively harmonious sect-penetration and teaching-penetration.

Shi Ruyuan is blessed. Since attaining the fruit and realizing the mind, she has remained in profound meditative concentration, undisturbed and unperturbed, her samadhi state never lost, continuous and unbroken, her contemplation uninterrupted. I, the master, deeply admire this. When I first attained the fruit, all disturbances arose at once—overwhelming, with various trials appearing, determined to drag me down. My meditative concentration was shaky, intermittent, and my practice did not go as I wished. I wanted to retreat but couldn’t; I tried to avoid people and matters but couldn’t escape. It was all because my heart was too soft, unable to overcome the barrier of family affection.

It’s been three or four months since Ruyuan realized the mind, right? Her samadhi state remains firm, and she still experiences auspicious dreams; the Buddhas’ and Bodhisattvas’ blessings show no sign of weakening. This shows her mind is extremely pure, her resolve unwavering and indestructible.

While in the first dhyana, one should interact with various groups of people, using all kinds of events to reflect on whether any greed remains. The primary greed severed in the first dhyana is sexual desire. Since she’s ordained, this aspect can’t be tested directly. It needs to be examined through encountering various conditions. If necessary, observe your own mental reactions in others’ greedy situations: whether there’s any envy, sympathy, approval, empathy, etc., or whether you feel indifferent, unaffected, or even repulsed, and whether your thoughts contradict those of worldly people. If, after prolonged examination, you find your thoughts oppose your past views and contradict worldly people’s views, you can conclude you’ve severed greed.

Then examine your own anger. When working with others, if subjected to bullying, neglect, contempt, mockery, etc., observe whether your mind reacts calmly, as if nothing happened. Go among strangers—people unaware of your attainment and realization—to observe truthfully. After a period of observation, if you find you truly harbor no anger toward any person or situation, you can confirm you’ve eliminated anger. After greed and anger are eliminated, you can confirm you’ve attained the third fruit of the Hinayana path. But these tests require sufficient evidence to fully prove you’ve severed greed and anger, and the timeframe should be extended. Attaining the third fruit in Hinayana is sufficient—aim for the highest quality of the third fruit, nearing but not reaching the fourth fruit. Do not pursue Hinayana further; continuing would be dangerous, obstructing Mahayana practice.

For a year and a half after attaining the fruit, I remained in a state of awakened clarity. No matter what people or events I encountered, no matter how I was treated, not a trace of affliction arose. Let the winds blow from all directions—my mind remained unmoved. Even when major family disturbances occurred, tears streaming down my face, my heart felt numb, as if separated by a wall, though I still had to deal with matters.

To check whether greed is truly severed, don’t just examine your thoughts—most importantly, examine your physiological reactions. If there’s no physiological reaction at all during intimate contact with the opposite sex, like a piece of wood, then greed is severed. Facing people you dislike isn’t a reliable test; facing people you like or feel neutral toward provides accurate results. After ordination or with age, it becomes harder to test; the younger you are, the more accurate the test. Some people are naturally disinterested in sexual desire and sever greed very quickly.

What did the Second Patriarch do when he went to the brothel after his enlightenment? Whatever he did, he didn’t break precepts. With samadhi and wisdom united, facing many prostitutes, he couldn’t possibly break precepts. Others shouldn’t attempt such an experience—they’d break precepts immediately, lacking the meditative power to control their mental conduct. Some might wonder: what’s an ordained person doing in such a place? They speculate and slander, seeing only the surface of him mixing in brothels, blind to the purity and innocence within his mind.