Distinctions Between Practitioners in the Dharma-ending Age and Ancient Practitioners

The later the Dharma-ending Age arrives, the thinner the blessings of sentient beings become and the shallower their virtuous roots grow. Consequently, in the practice and realization of the Buddha Dharma, there are gradually more who expound the principles than those who comprehend them, more who understand the path than those who walk it, and those who can genuinely attain fruition through practice are as rare as phoenix feathers. Liezi said: "The great Way is lost through branching paths, just as a sheep strays; scholars lose their way through pursuing too many methods." When the study of Dharma becomes too scattered and disordered, one cannot delve deeply and thus fails to grasp the thread and method. In practice, often the more one knows, the less one realizes, for without meditative concentration, genuine realization is impossible. Extensive listening and broad learning allow one to intellectually understand much of the Buddha Dharma without requiring meditative concentration, but actual realization is out of the question. Modern people are unable to cultivate meditative concentration. If they are not taught some correct principles, they will engage in extensive listening and broad learning everywhere, studying theories that are not in accordance with the truth. If the very principles guiding realization are incorrect, then genuine realization becomes even more impossible.

What we should most diligently investigate is the ancient practitioners. We must explore how they cultivated the Way, how they applied their efforts, and whether they all studied a vast array of theories, then became eloquently argumentative everywhere, or eloquently preached everywhere, setting themselves up as teachers. If one has not attained realization oneself, how can one teach others to realize? Why aspire to be a teacher? Is there not within this a mind seeking to display the self? We observe that even after attaining the Way, the ancient sages and worthies remained humble and low-key, continuing their own practice. They did not lightly occupy positions of authority or take up the staff of Dharma transmission passed from their masters. Because they were selfless and possessed self-awareness, and because there were already many sages and worthies propagating the Dharma sufficient for the deliverance of sentient beings, why should they, with their Way not yet solidified, insist on forcefully putting themselves forward? Modern people are the opposite; regardless of whether they have attained the Way or not, they simply seek to put themselves forward whenever possible.