How to Rely on the Dharma Rather Than on the Person

Dharma is the truth of facts, and all learners must rely on the truth of facts. If you yourself do not know what the truth of the facts is, there are two options: first, choose to remain silent—not commenting, not evaluating, not taking a stance of yes or no. Second, strive to seek out and discover the truth of the facts, striving to verify whether a given dharma is truly the actual truth; until there is evidence to prove it, choose silence.

In this way, the phenomenon of blindly relying on persons can be avoided. As long as anyone is not a Buddha, the dharma they expound will certainly have flaws and deficiencies. If one chooses to rely on the person, then one relies on those flaws and deficiencies as well, and the consequences will not be optimistic. Even with the dharma taught by a Buddha, as long as one has not heard it face to face, it has been passed down through intermediaries, and there may be parts transmitted incorrectly—phenomena of erroneous transmission. As a disciple of the Buddha, one should also strive to realize it for oneself, to see whether the dharma passed down through intermediaries is actually true and whether it makes sense; before genuine wisdom has arisen, one should not lightly pass judgment either.