Thesis, reason, and example are the true manifestation of genuine practice and realization

The "zong" (conclusion) refers to the guiding principle, conclusion, and theory—a summary of the fruits of practice. Without practice, no conclusion can be drawn, and there would be no theory to provide guidance. It is evident that the guiding principles and theories are summarized, induced, and generalized from the causes that come later; that is to say, the causes that come later must exist first before the earlier conclusions and theories can arise. Without the later causes, there would be no earlier fruits, no guiding principles, and the theory could not stand, nor could it guide practice.

Facts prove that all the Buddhadharma taught by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas was realized and distilled from their own genuine cultivation experience over countless kalpas—it came forth from true cultivation, true realization, and personal practice. True knowledge comes from practice; without practice, there is no true knowledge and no truth. The Tripitaka and the twelve divisions of the canon are all truths distilled, summarized, and generalized by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas from their actual cultivation and realization. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas use these truths to guide sentient beings in their cultivation and realization; after sentient beings have cultivated and realized them, they summarize again, once more verifying the correctness and soundness of these truths.

The same is true for those in our community who have achieved preliminary success in cultivation. Through their own persistent effort in cultivation and practice, their body and mind, and their world, have undergone great transformation, and they have personally experienced the profundity and wonder of Buddhist cultivation and realization. When they present their personal experiences, the results of their cultivation and realization emerge, and the causes for establishing the guiding principles are thereby complete. Through the distillation, generalization, and summary of the phenomena of body and mind, the guiding principles are then established, and the path and theory of cultivation and realization are displayed with clarity and coherence—without the slightest forced interpretation. It comes about entirely naturally, like water flowing into a channel; it cannot possibly be faked. It is genuine and true down to the finest detail, reenacting the legend of the Buddhadharma. In contrast, some communities, for the sake of worldly private gain, engage in rampant fraud: without the causes of cultivation and realization, they establish principles without grounds. Such principles without causes carry no credibility whatsoever, benefit neither themselves nor others, and instead become a sharp weapon for destroying the true principles and the teaching itself, causing Buddhism to no longer have true cultivation, true realization, and genuine transmission. The methods of actual practice can no longer be passed down in continuity, thereby intentionally or unintentionally severing the seeds of the Buddhadharma.

Genuine cultivation and realization must have both causes and guiding principles; the principles and causes depend on each other, and the fruits naturally appear, with the transmission naturally continuing on, so that the lifeblood of the Buddhadharma is endlessly regenerated, never cut off. Therefore, exposing fraud and correcting deviations brooks no delay; protecting the transmission of the true Dharma of Buddhism is a duty that cannot be shirked, and clearing the cooling pond of the Three Jewels is the most urgent task. The true Bodhisattvas have an unshirkable responsibility in this.