What Is the Perfect Harmony Between Principle and Phenomena, and Among All Phenomena?

The highest state of Buddhist cultivation and realization is the Buddha's perfect integration of principle and phenomena, the unimpeded harmony in all matters, where everything accords with principle, principle manifests phenomena, phenomena reveal principle, and principle and phenomena are forever inseparable. To attain this, one must begin from the initial stage of seeing the Way in Buddhist practice, progressing until the final realization of Buddhahood. The Way seen progressively deepens over time—meaning the perceived principle becomes increasingly profound and subtle—and phenomena accordingly become more perfectly integrated and complete. From the initial seeing of the Way, phenomena follow principle; wherever principle goes, phenomena follow, never becoming disconnected. This continues until the Buddha’s ultimate seeing of the Way, when upon seeing the morning star, he awakened to the Way. At that moment, principle became complete, and all phenomena instantly achieved perfection alongside it. Neither principle nor phenomena required further cultivation, and he attained the supreme, unparalleled status of the Dharma King.

Seeing the Way is divided into seeing in principle and seeing in phenomena. What is the difference between seeing in principle and seeing in phenomena? Seeing in principle involves progressing from principle to principle, fully comprehending principle on the level of consciousness, understanding it clearly, yet phenomena do not follow. At this stage, phenomena and principle are disconnected. Because the mental faculty (意根, manas) has not yet seen, the meditative state (samadhi) characterized by complete integration of concentration and wisdom does not arise, and phenomena do not accord with it. Phenomena are controlled by the mental faculty; consciousness alone cannot make phenomena follow and integrate.

Seeing the Way in phenomena, however, involves investigating and verifying principle through phenomena. When the Way is seen this way, phenomena necessarily accord with principle, phenomena necessarily follow principle, and principle and phenomena inevitably integrate without disconnection. Only then can one undergo a fundamental transformation, cleansing the heart and renewing the mind. Outwardly, the person may appear the same, but in terms of mental conduct, there is no trace of past habits. Thought and character are completely renewed; the mind is empty and selfless. The conditioned manifests the unconditioned, and the unconditioned serves the conditioned—empty yet not empty, not empty yet empty.

Therefore, true seeing of the Way is one where sufficient investigation is conducted through phenomena to perceive and enter into principle. It is the realization of principle where phenomena follow principle and reveal principle—an inseparability of principle and phenomena, accompanied by samadhi. The integration of principle and phenomena does not necessarily mean perfect integration or complete unimpededness, for if the principle is not fully penetrated, full penetration results in Buddhahood. To see principle in phenomena is to realize it; if principle is not seen in phenomena, it is not realization. If principle remains merely principle, unintegrated with phenomena, this principle cannot resolve phenomena. A principle that cannot resolve phenomena has no practical use. Therefore, merely knowing principle without seeing and manifesting it through phenomena is not genuine realization.