Deception in Dharma

How many people enjoy being deceived, relish such empty fame to satisfy their vanity—as long as it sets them apart, anything goes; even being deceived seems worthwhile. Some, once their ego is stirred, would willingly accept a bomb; they live for that very feeling. Gradually, demons and monsters emerge posing as virtuous mentors, "liberating sentient beings," only to lead them into the ranks of demons and monsters themselves. Yet these people are precisely drawn to such demons and monsters—what can be done?

A virtuous mentor asks a deluded disciple: "Are you a Buddha?" The disciple hesitates. The mentor says: "Why can’t you take on this truth? Are you not a Buddha?" The disciple then has a sudden realization: "I am indeed a Buddha! How could I not be? You, virtuous mentor, are a Buddha; I am a Buddha; we are all Buddhas to one another." Together they praise each other: "You are a Buddha, I am a Buddha; you are a deity, I am a deity; you liberate sentient beings, I liberate sentient beings. We are all extraordinary, elevated above ordinary beings, and it is through us that sentient beings attain liberation." Thus, this group of people stand aloft atop the clouds each day, dazed and giddy, as if intoxicated by several jars of aged wine. And so, a band of deluded "buddhas" creates the karma of grave false speech, destined for hell upon death.

After each confirms the other as a Buddha, the virtuous mentor instructs: "A Buddha neither cultivates, realizes, nor attains anything. Henceforth, we need not engage in practice; merely maintain the state." Thus, the deluded "buddhas" merrily play the role of false Buddhas all day long, learning and practicing nothing, calling this "maintaining the state."

Mental illness manifests as both collective and individual afflictions. Individual mental illness is already difficult to manage; when collective mental illness erupts, even a Buddha cannot subdue it immediately. Sentient beings soak blissfully in the great dye vat of delusion, unaware and impervious, like those intoxicated by several jars of aged wine—utterly impossible to awaken.