All Dharmas Can Only Be Confirmed Without Doubt Through Personal Realization

What matters most is the ability to personally realize all dharmas and directly perceive them with immediate awareness. Even the words spoken by the Buddha himself should be personally observed and verified through practice before they can be confirmed without doubt. The truth one personally verifies is fact, and fact is more reliable than the Buddha's words. The words spoken by the Buddha are more reliable than the Buddhist scriptures that have been transmitted, for the scriptures have passed through the mouths and hands of others, constituting a retelling. Buddhist scriptures are more reliable than the treatises of Equal Enlightenment Bodhisattvas, the treatises of Equal Enlightenment Bodhisattvas are more reliable than those of other bodhisattvas, and the treatises of other great bodhisattvas are more reliable than the words of ordinary beings. Ultimately, no matter how reliable the scriptures and treatises may be, none are more reliable than personal realization.

However, in the present time, even if the Buddha himself were to come to teach the Dharma, all beings could only place faith in the scriptures and not in the words spoken directly by the Buddha. This is because they would not know it was the Buddha manifesting in the world, and they lack the wisdom to discern whether the Dharma meaning is correct and genuine. Thus, their faith becomes blind faith and reverential faith, not faith based on realization, nor true faith—it is merely faith in the Buddha's reputation and prestige. If beings were to believe that the Buddha had personally come to the Saha world to teach the Dharma, then they would believe the words spoken by the Buddha appearing in his form; they would not necessarily believe the scriptures, even if the scriptures were perfectly correct and genuine. This also demonstrates that beings' faith in the Buddha and his teachings is blind and reverential, not based on realization. If one believes the Dharma taught by someone appearing in the form of the Buddha, then what should one do if Mara appears in the Buddha's form to teach the Dharma? One would have to believe it completely and then be led astray, sinking into the cycle of birth and death, unable to attain liberation.

Therefore, above all else, only personal realization is most reliable. Believing only in facts, believing only in truth—this is the principle everyone should follow. However, realizing the truth is an extremely difficult feat, requiring immense merit and wisdom. This is precisely why beings have no choice but to place faith in the words spoken by others; it is an act of helplessness. Hence, when the Buddha was about to depart, he repeatedly exhorted his disciples to adhere to the Four Reliances and the Four Non-reliances. Clearly, this principle of the Four Reliances and Four Non-reliances must be exceedingly difficult to practice; nearly ninety-nine percent of people cannot do it due to deficiencies in merit, meditative concentration, and wisdom.

On the other hand, whenever the importance of believing in realization is mentioned, there will be those burdened with deep arrogance who believe only in their own inferences and interpretations, considering them to be their own realized truths. Consequently, they cease to believe what is spoken by those who have genuinely realized the truth, growing increasingly arrogant until they deceive themselves and others, ultimately failing to gain the benefits of the Dharma. In the Dharma-ending Age, the phenomena surrounding Buddhist practice are such that even the Buddha would find it difficult to handle. Beings veer either to the left or to the right—they are either blindly following or excessively self-confident due to arrogance. Those lacking wisdom find it hard to grasp an appropriate measure or maintain a suitable balance; one could say even skilled physicians would be at a loss.