Miscellaneous Discourses on the Dharma (Part II)
Chapter 3: Hindrances and Afflictions (Part 2)
13. What is the Way
Question: What is the Way? The Chan Master answered: Eating and sleeping. Question: I also eat and sleep, how is that different from the Way? The Chan Master answered: When you eat, you do not eat properly, seeking a hundred things; when you sleep, you do not sleep properly, being picky in various ways. This is greed for form, sound, smell, taste, and touch; it is not cultivating the Way.
Cultivating the Way in daily life is done as the Patriarchs did, not as some people, who are full of afflictions, say—that one should integrate into life, become one with form, sound, smell, taste, and touch, being "liberated" by greed, hatred, and delusion, resulting in an inability to break free from the fetters of the Five Desires. When people full of afflictions expound the Dharma, they never depart from afflictions. They themselves have afflictions and do not teach others to transcend and be liberated from afflictions; instead, they hope others will share the same afflictions as themselves. They have no experience of liberating themselves from afflictions, no history of transcending afflictions; it is impossible for them to correctly teach others step by step to escape the abyss of afflictions. Nor do they recognize afflictions as an abyss, due to their attachment to enjoyment.
Some Dharma expounders also, intentionally or unintentionally, instill worldly afflictions, such as teaching how to be upright and outstanding, how to be smooth-tongued and cunning in social interactions, how to praise oneself and slander others, how to tolerate sexual desires and contentious anger, inducing all kinds of grasping in sentient beings, even teaching techniques of debate and sophistry. Engaging in these worldly, afflictive matters within Buddhism will ultimately lead and direct one towards the three evil destinies, suffering immeasurably with little hope of escape. Therefore, if one truly wishes to cultivate the Way well, one should learn more from the demeanor of the ancient cultivators, Chan Masters, and Patriarchs; learn their purity of heart and few desires in daily life; learn their straightforwardness without deceit, indifference to fame and gain, lofty aspirations, and the mind of a Wayfarer single-mindedly devoted to the Way.
Modern people, without needing instruction, are inherently burdened with heavy afflictions. Compounded by the influence of the social environment and customs, their minds are severely defiled. Every day they are engaged in pervasive seeking; the six sense faculties (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind) grasp at the six dusts (form, sound, smell, taste, touch, dharmas) — not a single dharma is un-sought, not a single dharma is un-grasped. The obscuration of the Five Hindrances is extremely heavy. If one truly wishes to achieve a breakthrough in this life, one should awaken early, constantly reflecting on the afflictions within one's own mind everywhere and at all times. Whenever there is seeking, one should mentally note: "I am seeking, I am pervasively seeking." What is it like not to pervasively seek? Like the ancient practitioners: Cultivating the Way in the mountains, eating one meal a day, having few desires and knowing contentment, the mind constantly abiding in peace and joy — apart from this, all else has the nature of seeking.
14. Is a Major Leakage Determined by the Length of Time Spent Pursuing?
Someone said: To sever desire for the desire realm requires a lot of time and also involves a heavy sense of contrivance; this is a major leakage. If a person has heavy greed, marriage can solve it; marriage takes a short time, so it’s a minor leakage. What takes a long time to pursue is a major leakage; what takes a short time to pursue is a minor leakage. This person’s statement distorts the facts and seriously violates the principles of the Four Noble Truths and liberation in Buddhism.
If spending a long time pursuing something constitutes a major leakage, then ordinary beings spend three asamkhyeya kalpas pursuing Buddhahood — is that a major leakage? If severing desire for the desire realm is a major leakage, then does preserving desire for the desire realm for countless kalpas, thereby creating immeasurable karmic actions of greed, hatred, and delusion in the six destinies since beginningless time, and enduring immeasurable suffering of birth and death, not constitute a major leakage? Is the method to resolve greed marriage, rather than contemplating suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self to attain liberation? Is marriage the method to resolve desire for the desire realm? Then what should the method to resolve hatred be? Should one kill the hated person in an instant, so that hatred ceases?
If an ordinary being spends an instant killing someone, the time spent is extremely short — is that not a major leakage? Is yielding to greedy afflictions not a major leakage? By this reasoning, was the Buddha’s coming to the deeply afflicted Saha world to teach the Dharma of liberation meaningless? Do sentient beings attain liberation merely by yielding to afflictive desires? Is the severity of leakage measured by the time spent, or by the weight of the affliction? Is greed indulged in for an extremely short time not a major leakage? Is marriage the method to resolve greed? Is killing the method to resolve hatred? Who doesn’t know that marriage is precisely a manifestation of greed? Since beginningless time, sentient beings, when born as humans, have married life after life — haven’t they always been greedy? Isn’t it an obvious fact that for the sake of this greed, they have suffered immeasurably life after life?
It seems this person does not truly have faith in the Buddha Dharma, yet sits high on the seat expounding the Dharma, posing as a virtuous friend (kalyāṇa-mitra), teaching sentient beings to simply yield to greed, yield to hatred and delusion, to enjoy themselves however they please, not to cultivate the Noble Truths of Suffering, its Origin, its Cessation, and the Path, not to sever greed and hatred, because that takes too much time and is not worth the effort; it’s better to enjoy the moment. This is intolerable! If outsiders (non-Buddhists) said this, it might be excusable, as they are outsiders. But this is someone who claims to be a virtuous friend, a true virtuous friend, someone who explains the principles of liberation. Clearly, this is an attempt to press all sentient beings into the six destinies to indulge in greed alongside oneself. The unwholesome karma created by each individual is like lifting a rock to smash one’s own foot; it’s like spitting at the sky only to have the saliva fall back on one’s own face. The ancients said that a single mistaken word caused one to fall into the body of a wild fox. This person’s errors are enormous and numerous — what should the karmic retribution be?
15. Are Cultivating Samadhi and Removing the Five Hindrances Leaky Methods?
Someone said that seated meditation (dhyāna) to cultivate samadhi and cultivating the removal of the Five Hindrances both involve grasping at characteristics and discrimination, which is the same as the cultivation methods of outsiders (non-Buddhists). This belongs to primarily cultivating non-definitive meaning Dharma (neyārtha), therefore it cannot give rise to Suchness Samadhi (tathatā-samādhi). It should be treated as a major leakage, abandoned, and not cultivated. This view is extremely perverse and seriously violates Buddhist and Bodhisattva teachings; it is simply not something a disciple of the Buddha should say. Such knowledge and views indicate that this person fundamentally does not understand the main content of cultivating the Way, does not know what should ultimately be cultivated or how to cultivate, is ignorant of the stages and process of the path, does not understand the transitions in cultivation, and cannot directly reach the result and ultimate goal of practice. Consequently, they have no path whatsoever, are utterly without attainment, speaking empty words with an empty belly.
If cultivating samadhi and removing the Five Hindrances involve grasping at characteristics and discrimination, then studying the Buddha Dharma involves even more grasping at characteristics and discrimination. If one should not grasp at characteristics and discriminate, then one shouldn’t even study the Buddha Dharma, shouldn’t cultivate wholesome dharmas, shouldn’t cultivate the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the Thirty-seven Aids to Enlightenment, the Six Perfections of the Bodhisattva, or the Threefold Training of Precepts, Samadhi, and Wisdom. Studying Buddhism itself involves grasping at characteristics and discrimination; otherwise, why not study Qigong or Christianity? Why not go to a Christian church to expound the Dharma? Why not sleep all day instead of working? What kind of person can avoid grasping at characteristics and discrimination? Except for the Buddha and the Tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature). But when the Buddha liberates sentient beings, is that grasping at characteristics and discrimination? When he teaches the Four Noble Truths to Śrāvakas, the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination to Pratyekabuddhas, and the Six Perfections and myriad practices to Bodhisattvas — is this grasping at characteristics and discrimination? Is not teaching Consciousness-Only (Vijñānavāda) to beginners grasping at characteristics and discrimination? Was the Buddha’s refusal to hand over the leadership of the Sangha to Devadatta grasping at characteristics and discrimination? Was the Buddha’s renunciation of his royal throne, wife, and child to cultivate the Way grasping at characteristics and discrimination? Was eating one sesame seed or one grain of wheat per day in the mountains grasping at characteristics and discrimination? Was liberating the first five bhikkhus in the Deer Park grasping at characteristics and discrimination?
Except for the Tathāgatagarbha, both sentient beings and Buddhas cannot avoid grasping at characteristics and discrimination. If grasping at characteristics and discrimination are all leakage, then the grasping and discrimination of bacteria are the slightest, almost incapable of discriminating much, unable to grasp so many characteristics due to extreme stupidity. Does this mean humans have more and greater leakage than bacteria? All kinds of acceptance and rejection constitute grasping at characteristics and discrimination. In the secular world and all Buddha lands, one cannot be free from acceptance and rejection. There is no one who does not make choices, including all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The issue is *how* to choose, involving *what* to accept and *what* to reject. Skillful choosing and discrimination are great wisdom; without wisdom, one cannot correctly choose and discriminate.
Giving rise to Suchness Samadhi: one type is samadhi purely of the nature of meditative concentration (dhyāna); another is Suchness Samadhi combining meditative concentration and prajñā (wisdom). Apart from meditative concentration, not even the slightest bit of samadhi exists. Seated meditation to cultivate samadhi and removing the Five Hindrances are essential methods for cultivating the Way taught by the Buddha. Practitioners of both the Mahayana and Hinayana cannot bypass them without cultivation. Without cultivating samadhi, one cannot realize the Way. Without removing the Five Hindrances, one cannot sever ignorance and afflictions. Advocating not cultivating meditative concentration and not removing the Five Hindrances—is this meant to oppose and defy the Buddha and the Buddha Dharma, or does one consider oneself wiser and more knowledgeable about cultivating the Way than the Buddha? Does one hope to attain Buddhahood while forever carrying a scattered mind engaged in shallow thinking and reasoning, burdened with the Five Hindrances and all afflictions and ignorance?
If the methods the Buddha decreed as essential to cultivate are leaky methods, then what methods are without leakage? The Tathāgatagarbha has no leakage, but are your seven consciousnesses and five aggregates the Tathāgatagarbha? Can the Tathāgatagarbha represent the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses? How should the leakage of the seven consciousnesses and five aggregates be handled? Can shallow, scattered mental states, emotional thinking, and intellectual understanding handle so many, such great afflictive leakages? In the Dharma-ending Age, strange people and strange events are quite numerous in the secular world and Buddhism, almost beyond human imagination. Yet, so many people still follow and admire them—one wonders what they seek. Time flies like a shuttle, passing in an instant. Better to rely on the Dharma and no longer on people?
16. The Power of Influence
Sentient beings mutually influence each other. Whomever you associate with, you will unconsciously be influenced by their habits, character, disposition, wholesome and unwholesome mental actions, etc. If a person keeps a dog and is always with the dog, the dog has its canine habits, the person has human habits. Over time, constantly observing the dog's eyes, movements, eating, and habits of walking, sitting, and lying down, one is unconsciously influenced by the dog's habits and mentality without realizing it. Even one's appearance might be very subtly influenced. However, dogs are more easily influenced by humans because human influence is stronger than that of dogs. In mutual influence, dogs receive more and heavier influence. Therefore, a dog's habits become closer to humans, making it easier to be reborn in a human body in a future life. Once obtaining a human body, it will be understanding, intelligent, and clever.
A dog being influenced by a human is certainly good. What would be the result of a human being influenced by a dog? Like attracts like. A person constantly watching a dog will have their appearance quietly change, though it's hard to notice. In this life, it may not change or change only a little, but when the seeds of influence mature in a future life, change will occur. If you become accustomed to being with a dog, develop deep feelings, and have a very close relationship, then at the time of the intermediate state (bardo) after death, you will manifest a dog's realm and unconsciously follow the dog, being reborn in a dog's womb.
For example, if you are always with a person who stutters, someone who speaks haltingly and stammers, you might initially feel it doesn't matter, and you won't become a stutterer. But over time, your speech will develop obstacles; the longer the time, the greater the obstacle. This is being slowly influenced over time. The aspects influenced include appearance, manner of speaking, tone, habits—including eating habits, walking, sitting, and lying down habits.
At our current stage of practice, we are easily influenced. Unwholesome dharmas are easier to be influenced into than wholesome dharmas because our minds are far more afflicted than wholesome. We are accustomed to afflictions and not accustomed to wholesomeness; we have resistance towards wholesome dharmas but easily accept unwholesome dharmas. For instance, in a crowd, when encountering gossip, it's easy to become interested and participate in disputes. When encountering praise of others' good points, one is often unwilling to join in, usually keeping silent—except for those close to oneself or those one finds useful. Those who add stones to a well are common; those who offer help in times of need are rare. Therefore, if one truly wishes to cultivate and change oneself, one should choose to draw near to virtuous people and stay away from people heavy with afflictions. Places and people of gossip and trouble should be avoided. This way, the mind will gradually incline towards wholesomeness and distance itself from unwholesomeness. Afflictions can then be subdued; it becomes difficult to create afflictive karma, leaving no seeds of unwholesome karma, making future lives easier and free from afflictive obstacles.
17. What is the Significance of Cultivating the Tathāgatagarbha Dharma Gate?
All cultivation of the Buddha Dharma is for realizing the emptiness of self and the emptiness of dharmas, eradicating the view of self and view of dharmas of the seventh consciousness, eliminating the ignorance, afflictions, and delusions of the seventh consciousness. Everyone must clearly understand this goal and direction; only then does cultivating the Buddha Dharma, cultivating the Tathāgatagarbha Dharma, have meaning. Otherwise, it becomes merely a field of study, separating practice and scholarship into two disconnected parts, resulting in scholarship being scholarship and practice being practice, with no relation between the two. We should be clear about this: scholarship cannot eradicate ignorance and afflictions; it will only add afflictions and bondage, even increasing ignorance and karmic actions leading to birth and death.
Why does the phenomenon of scholarship and practice becoming disconnected occur? The fundamental problem lies in the lack of meditative concentration (samadhi) and true observation (yathābhūta-praṇidhāna), the lack of connection and correspondence with one's body, mind, and the world. One erroneous view—that Bodhisattvas do not sever afflictions—is the direct root of this problem. Due to unclear cultivation goals, scholarship accumulates but lacks real meaning. Cultivating the Tathāgatagarbha Dharma is for the purpose of severing afflictions. As long as the direction and method are correct, afflictions will gradually dissolve; even if one doesn't intentionally sever them, they will unconsciously be severed. If the direction and method are wrong, knowledge and scholarship can continuously increase, but afflictions will not decrease; they might even grow along with the increase in scholarship. Cultivating the Dharma this way is truly mistaken and inverted.
Sentient beings, due to kalpas spent in ignorance and afflictions, undergo continuous suffering in the six destinies of birth and death. Bodhisattvas are part of sentient beings; they too undergo birth and death due to ignorance and afflictions and equally need to cultivate to eradicate ignorance and afflictions, severing the bonds of birth and death to leave suffering and attain happiness. Only after personally eradicating ignorance and afflictions does one qualify to be a Bodhisattva guiding others to also eradicate ignorance and afflictions, leave suffering, attain happiness, and move towards liberation. If a Bodhisattva is in the abyss of afflictions, how could they have the ability and qualification to guide sentient beings out of the abyss of afflictions?
Therefore, the view that "Bodhisattvas do not sever afflictions and should not sever afflictions" is extremely harmful. If one does not sever afflictions, what is the purpose of studying Buddhism and cultivating? Liberating sentient beings without letting them sever afflictions—what kind of state would that liberate them into? Should sentient beings all become collectors of knowledge and scholarship, become theoretical experts, as the ultimate destination? Can knowledge, theory, and scholarship withstand birth and death? Can they serve as merit, be eaten as food? With afflictions, there is no virtue—neither meritorious virtue (puṇya) nor karmic merit (guṇa). Sentient beings without meritorious virtue or karmic merit are karmically obstructed ordinary beings bound by birth and death. What then is there to discuss about cultivation and liberating beings?
Those who study the Tathāgatagarbha Dharma analyze and intellectually understand it very clearly, yet they themselves derive not the slightest benefit. Their afflictions remain as before; their wisdom is still shallow; bonds still fetter their minds. Cultivating this way to the end is all futile labor. No matter how pure the Tathāgatagarbha is, how selfless, how fully endowed with all precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom—if the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses are impure, cannot be selfless, lack precepts, concentration, and wisdom, one will still lack blessings and wisdom, suffering boundlessly with no hope of liberation. The Tathāgatagarbha will still manifest the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses in the three evil destinies to suffer, bobbing up and down in the bitter sea of the six destinies.
Therefore, cultivation must be according to principle, Dharma, and precepts; it must not deviate from the correct goal and course. One must strictly discipline oneself with the Buddha's precepts, strictly cultivate according to the criteria of the Threefold Training of Precepts, Meditative Concentration, and Wisdom taught by the Buddha. The goal is a mind free from outflows (anāsrava); "free from outflows" means without ignorance and without afflictions. This is the correct path of cultivation. Do not say again that "Bodhisattvas do not sever afflictions"; this is a wrong view (mithyā-dṛṣṭi), running counter to cultivation.
18. Why Do Many People Live Happily Without Feeling Suffering?
Sentient beings, floating in the sea of suffering since beginningless time, have long been accustomed to it. They have never experienced true happiness; without contrast, there is no perception or awakening. The more ignorant sentient beings are, the less they know suffering and their own ignorance; they often take suffering as happiness. Knowing suffering is the awakening of a cultivator, and the awakening of cultivators is mostly taught by the Buddha. Once one knows suffering, one will aspire to cessation (nirodha) and cultivate the Way. Sooner or later, one will exhaust the origin of suffering (samudaya) and thereby transcend birth and death, attaining liberation. Ignorance is the heaviest of all afflictions; ignorant people are the most difficult to transform. All teachings cannot enter; all words cannot be understood; all exhortations are useless; all skillful means, methods, and techniques are ineffective—like a stubborn stone, impervious to salt or sauce. Due to ignorance, other afflictions are fewer, false thoughts are fewer, mental activities are fewer, and they know even less about liberation. Among humans, such people, if they cultivate concentration, might quickly enter the Desire Realm Concentration (kāma-dhātu dhyāna) without scattered thoughts, but deeper concentrations are impossible because the affliction of ignorance is heavy and not in accordance with the higher realms.
19. How Can One Become Aware of One's Own Mental Thoughts?
If one wishes to understand oneself, to know whether one's mental thoughts are wholesome or unwholesome, defiled or pure, how should one proceed? Why can many people continuously follow their own defiled mental actions, afflicted mental actions, to create defiled karmic actions? It is because they lack awareness, lack the power of mindfulness; they do not know and do not consider what the result of each mental action and thought will be, what karmic retribution it will bring. They only think to vent their emotions, feeling satisfied once their mind feels comfortable. As for the possibility of being very uncomfortable or extremely uncomfortable later, they cannot be concerned. This is the ignorance, delusion, and short-sightedness of sentient beings.
How can one become aware of one's own mental actions and thoughts? First, one must have faith in cause and effect (karma). Then, one must understand cause and effect, knowing that all bodily, verbal, and mental actions have consequences; when conditions ripen, one will inevitably experience the karmic results, whether wholesome or unwholesome. Everything one does to others and in situations must ultimately be borne by oneself. Doing good receives good retribution; doing evil receives evil retribution. This is the inescapable law of karma. With this understanding, one will intentionally pay attention to one's own bodily, verbal, and mental actions. However, due to insufficient power of concentration (samādhi-bala) and wisdom (prajñā-bala), one will often habitually create unwholesome bodily, verbal, and mental actions without being aware of it.
This necessitates cultivating concentration to supplement the power of samadhi, enhancing the power of introspection, making the mind more refined, making observation more acute, enabling one to capture one's own thoughts at any time, and to observe the deepest thoughts and ideas in the mind, or afflicted thoughts. This way, one can achieve a deep and thorough understanding of oneself. Even if one cannot quickly correct unwholesome thoughts or subdue one's afflictions, as long as one knows, over time, one will surely change gradually and subtly, even surprising oneself with the transformation.
One can cultivate the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (smṛtyupasthāna) with equal emphasis on concentration and wisdom (samatha-vipassanā), increasing one's power of concentration and wisdom, enhancing one's awareness. Then, in daily interactions and handling affairs, one should introspect one's mental thoughts, introspect the true thoughts deep within one's mind, and then ask oneself: What benefit does this bring to others and to myself? What consequences will it have? Is this result liberating or binding for me? In the future, am I willing to bear this result? Can I bear it?
Observing one's own mind and practicing the Four Foundations of Mindfulness follow the same principle. The Four Foundations of Mindfulness begin with concentration and culminate in wisdom; the goal is wisdom. Only when wisdom arises can one realize the fruit of enlightenment (attaining stream-entry, etc.) by eradicating the view of self. Observing one's own mental thoughts is the same. What is the result of observation? The result is the arising of wisdom that understands oneself and understands consequences. With this wisdom, one will surely be able to subdue afflictions and eradicate them, enjoying the happy karmic results of wholesome actions in the future. The arising of thoughts determines a person's fortune and misfortune. Evil, unwholesome thoughts attract misfortune and diminish blessings. Wholesome thoughts generate blessings and avert misfortune. Many people encounter various favorable and adverse conditions without knowing why. Those with coarse minds don't even consider why, thinking adverse conditions arise naturally, unaware that they are brought about by their own karmic actions. Because of one's own evil leading to unwholesome karma, blessings cannot last, misfortune cannot be avoided; one drifts and tosses in the sea of human suffering, sinking and floating with the currents.
If one does not observe one's own mind, wisdom will not arise. This is because the consciousness (manas, the sixth consciousness) does not move the mental observation; it presents the dharmas directly to the mind-root (manas, the seventh consciousness), allowing the mind-root to face them truthfully. After facing them, the mind-root will pay attention and focus on the dharmas; there will be deliberation. After proper deliberation, a result will arise. If the sixth consciousness does not observe and the mind is scattered, the mind-root (seventh consciousness) will not dwell on the observed dharmas, will not know the dharmas, and will not realize the dharmas. If the sixth consciousness observes without concentration, in a scattered state, the mind-root will likewise scatter and grasp at objects, unable to gather on the observed dharmas, unable to observe and deliberate on the dharmas truthfully, thus not knowing and not realizing the dharmas. Therefore, the Chan Masters of the past and the disciples during the Buddha's time, although they did not understand the dharmas of the mind-root, were still able to realize the mind and attain the fruits (of enlightenment) precisely because they all had deep meditative concentration.
If one does not observe one's own mind, the sixth and seventh consciousnesses will not apply mental attention (manasikāra) to this dharma, nor will the subsequent mental factors (caittas) of contact (sparśa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), and volition (cetanā) operate. Neither will the mental factors of concentration (samādhi) and wisdom (prajñā) appear. Of course, one will know nothing. Not observing one's own mind, one will follow thoughts as they flow; "I am the thought, the thought is me," trapped within, unable to extricate oneself. The word "knowing" is very important. Mental thoughts are like thieves. If a thief enters the house, one must know, must be aware, must watch him. The thief, knowing he has been discovered, becomes embarrassed to steal and slinks away.
Therefore, when a sense object arises, one must know. When a mental thought appears, one must know. Do not follow the sense object; do not let the mental thought continue to flow. Thereby, maintain right knowledge (samprajanya). Previously, without knowing, one was as ignorant as a dog chasing a thrown clod—chasing after thrown stones, barking wildly at sounds, unaware it's just the wind rustling the grass. Humans are no different from foolish dogs. All day taking sense objects as real, giving rise to mental thoughts—self and others, right and wrong, me high and you low—fighting over a bite of food until heads are broken and blood flows. Sentient beings are both pitiable and lamentable. To change oneself, one must put more effort into observing one's own mind.
20. How is Segment Birth and Death (Saṃsāra) Severed?
All birth and death are caused by ignorance (avidyā). Where there is ignorance, there are corresponding ignorant karmic actions and karmic seeds. Ignorant karmic seeds inevitably cause sentient beings to have segment birth and death (sections of life in the six destinies) and changeable birth and death (subtle rebirth for Bodhisattvas). To end segment birth and death, one must eradicate ignorance. After the mind is purified, sever afflictions and afflictive habits, eliminate ignorant karmic seeds. Then segment birth and death is eliminated, and one enters the stage of changeable birth and death.
What is the prerequisite for the transformation of karmic seeds? Only when the mind transforms, when bodily, verbal, and mental actions transform, will karmic seeds transform. What is the prerequisite for the mind to transform? Eradicating ignorance and severing afflictions cause the mind to transform. What is the prerequisite for eradicating ignorance? Cultivation of the Thirty-seven Aids to Enlightenment, the Bodhisattva's Six Perfections, and the Threefold Training of Precepts, Concentration, and Wisdom must reach a certain level before ignorance can be eradicated and afflictions severed. Only then can the mind transform, bodily, verbal, and mental actions become pure, and karmic seeds transform. When the view of a personal self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) is severed and exhausted, and the view of dharmas as having inherent existence (dharma-grāha) is severed, the Ālayavijñāna (storehouse consciousness) can transform into the Kliṣṭamanas (defiled mind, the seventh consciousness undergoing subtle transformation), and segment birth and death changes into changeable birth and death.
To whatever degree one cultivates, to that degree ignorance is eradicated, to that degree afflictions are severed, to that degree the mind becomes pure, to that degree bodily, verbal, and mental actions transform, to that degree karmic seeds transform, and to that degree the karmic results also transform accordingly. Therefore, cultivation is a process. Each stage is necessary and essential. The time may be long or short, but the process is absolutely indispensable. Without the process, there can be no talk of the result. Therefore, do not vainly imagine that an ordinary being bound by all fetters (sarva-saṃyojana) can realize Bodhi while still possessing all afflictions. Nor vainly imagine that after realizing Bodhi, one can continue on the Bodhi path without severing afflictions. Afflictions are not the path.
