What Kind of Person Expounds the Dharma Without Relevance?

After the contemplation of things being like a dream is accomplished, one directly attains the fruit of a bodhisattva of the ten dedications of merit (pariṇāma), on the verge of attaining the bhūmis. In the Sahā world there are almost no such people, including in ancient times. When the contemplation of things being like an illusion is accomplished, one directly becomes a bodhisattva of the ten abodes. Without seeing the mind, can one become such a bodhisattva? When the dharma gate of perfect penetration through the ear faculty is accomplished, one directly attains the rank of a bodhisattva of equivalent enlightenment. I cannot cultivate it in this lifetime. For many years people asked me to teach it; I made a guess at it, and after lecturing through a little less than half, no matter what, I could not continue—surely I could not just make things up? As for anyone else who wants to cultivate this, let them talk about it after passing through an incalculable eon. As for the cultivation methods of the Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment, without the realization of a bodhisattva of the first bhūmi, one should not even think about it—even I might not necessarily be able to cultivate it successfully.

People who have never had real realization teach the dharma in a jumpy, disjointed way, and their cultivation is likewise ungrounded. Why? Because they lack experience. Relying on their own imagination and speculation, going by feelings, they may cultivate their whole lives without ever finding the way in. Only by walking a path oneself does one know the specific route and have a proper sequence.