Engaging in Buddhist Practice Must Never Involve Personality Worship

The unconditioned dharma refers to the eighth consciousness, which is not a provisional designation established in opposition to conditioned dharmas. It is a true dharma, inherently existent, neither arising nor ceasing, and not a false dharma. The eighth consciousness is spoken of as the True Self in contrast to the false self of the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses. However, in the state of ordinary beings and bodhisattvas, it still contains seeds of arising and ceasing and thus does not yet fully constitute the complete Self. Only upon reaching Buddhahood, when the defiled seeds subject to birth, death, and change are eliminated, does it become the true, genuine Self characterized by permanence, bliss, selfhood, and purity.

When the foundation is gravely mistaken, the correctness or incorrectness of the branches and leaves becomes irrelevant. Discussing Consciousness-Only without awakening is a laughingstock; even the wisdom of awakening cannot fully articulate Consciousness-Only well. How can one speak of Consciousness-Only without cultivation and realization of it? If the Consciousness-Only teachings prevalent in the world today are transmitted to future generations, and if those propagating them possess fame and authority, people of later times will again prostrate themselves in blind admiration. One cannot fathom how many sincere and vast numbers of Buddhist disciples engaged in genuine practice will be led astray. Worldly people often mistakenly assume that the works of renowned virtuous masters are invariably correct and flawless, and that those who expound on Consciousness-Only must possess cultivation and realization. The ignorance of sentient beings lies precisely here; it is utterly incurable.

If one propagates and studies this kind of Consciousness-Only, the more one propagates it, the greater the karmic offense; the more one studies it, the further one strays from liberation. All of you, act with caution! The path of cultivation is perilous, fraught with all kinds of pitfalls. Cultivating abundant merit and increasing wisdom are of paramount importance. In future ages, these teachings will become ancient texts. People often revere antiquity; if they venerate such erroneous ancient texts, would it not harm others? How many people in the world truly have their eyes opened and can discern the right and wrong, the truth and falsehood, within ancient texts?