After Extensive Learning, Practice Contemplation as It Is

The Buddha said to Ananda: Although you memorize and uphold the pure and wondrous principles of the twelve divisions of scriptures from the Tathagatas of the ten directions—as numerous as the Ganges' sands—this only increases frivolous debate. Accumulating kalpas of hearing and permeation cannot free you from the calamity of Maudgalyayana. Recalling and upholding the Tathagata's secret and sublime majesty throughout kalpas is not equal to cultivating undefiled karma for a single day.

This passage from the Śūraṅgama Sūtra precisely points to the pain point of practitioners: remaining solely in the intellectual study of the conscious mind without engaging in genuine Dharma practice. If the mental faculty of intellect remains unrefined, no amount of cultivation through consciousness can lead to liberation. In the Dharma-ending Age, the phenomenon is far more severe than this. The most glaring example is mistaking the intellectual permeation of consciousness for genuine realization—a profound misunderstanding that persists without introspection.