Can the wisdom of the Buddha Dharma be separated from the wisdom of worldly dharmas?

Ignorance (avidyā), by its meaning, is not understanding, not comprehending, including not understanding and not comprehending all dharmas of the ten thousand phenomena. The Buddhas have severed all ignorance completely; they understand all transcendent dharmas, and they also understand all worldly dharmas—there is not a single dharma that they do not understand. Take any dharma within worldly convention and ask the Buddha; there is no dharma that the Buddha does not understand and cannot answer. Therefore, if one is not versed in worldly dharma and does not know how to conduct oneself and handle affairs, that is ignorance, and one's understanding of the Buddha-dharma is likewise not thorough.

The Buddhas and the great bodhisattvas of the various bhūmis are not only versed in the Buddha-dharma but are also simultaneously versed in worldly dharma. When they interact with sentient beings in the world, they understand the minds of sentient beings and understand worldly affairs; the choices they make do not violate worldly convention, and thus they can broadly deliver sentient beings rather than being delivered by them.

To whatever degree one is versed in the Buddha-dharma, correspondingly one will be versed in worldly dharma to that same degree. The Buddha-dharma and worldly dharma complement each other; there is no such thing as accomplishing the Buddha-dharma apart from worldly dharma. If that were possible, then the Buddha-dharma would have nothing to do with worldly dharma, but in fact the Buddha-dharma has never been separable from worldly dharma—it is intimately connected with worldly dharma. The Buddha-dharma can effectively guide worldly dharma. If someone has very high wisdom in the Buddha-dharma yet runs into obstacles everywhere in worldly affairs, that shows this person is not truly versed in the Buddha-dharma and does not possess genuine wisdom of the Buddha-dharma; the so-called wisdom is merely dry wisdom.

The great bodhisattvas of the various bhūmis, up to and including the Buddhas, can all serve in the world as high officials, ministers, monarchs, as well as wheel-turning sage kings and the lords of the various heavens. Their mastery of worldly dharma is inevitable—otherwise, how could they serve as monarchs, wheel-turning sage kings, and lords of the heavens? How could they manage and govern the worldly affairs of sentient beings? How could they win the trust of the multitude and lead the assembly?

Wisdom is interconnected. Wisdom in the Buddha-dharma cannot exist independently apart from wisdom in worldly dharma. The Buddha-dharma must be practiced within worldly dharma; if one cannot practice it successfully in worldly affairs, it shows that one has not truly penetrated the Buddha-dharma either, to the point of being unable to apply it to worldly dharma. All realizations (adhigama) in the Buddha-dharma must be manifested through one's bodily, verbal, and mental actions in worldly dharma. If one's bodily, verbal, and mental actions have not transformed toward purity, and one handles matters imperfectly, it shows that this person's cultivation is still insufficient—the power of meditative concentration, the power of merit, and the power of wisdom are all inadequate. Therefore, there is no Buddha-dharma that can be manifested apart from worldly dharma.