To study Buddhism, one must first lay a solid foundation of cultivation and realization at the Śrāvaka stage.

To subdue afflictions, elevate the mind-nature, and cultivate the character of sages and worthies, one must begin with the four establishments of mindfulness and with various practices of calm and insight. The path of calm and insight is long, not quick. Only by contemplating and cultivating calm from all directions and angles, and by subduing one's own mind, can a person gradually transform, shedding the ordinary mortal body and acquiring sacred bones, completely renewing from the inside out. Only then can one become a true sage or worthy, a guide for sentient beings. Only by pulling one's own legs out of the mud can one lead and rescue sentient beings with affinities out of the mire. If one cannot even pull one's own legs out of the mud, how can one rescue others from the mire?

The Buddha said that the entire Dharma is the one-vehicle Dharma, with neither a second nor a third. The cultivation and realization of the śrāvaka stage is one part of the one vehicle, the most fundamental and very important part. The practice within it is the process of subduing and eradicating afflictions, gradually corresponding with the sage-nature and buddha-nature. This process is indispensable. If this foundation is not well laid, yet one is determined to build a tall mansion, even if it could be built, it would be a castle in the air and would eventually collapse. Therefore, all bodhisattvas' practice must be down-to-earth, consolidating the foundation, valuing the cultivation of śīla, samādhi, and prajñā, diligently extinguishing greed, hatred, and delusion, and not merely shouting slogans without substantial practice, claiming to be genuine cultivation.