The Supremacy of the Ear Faculty Perfect Penetration Dharma Gate

The practice of the Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva's Dharma Gate of Perfect Penetration through the Faculty of Hearing culminates in relinquishing all that can be relinquished and emptying all that can be emptied. Even the act of relinquishing itself is relinquished, and even emptiness itself is emptied. That which can be relinquished and that which is relinquished, that which can be emptied and that which is emptied, as well as the emptiness of emptiness — all are utterly voided. Nothing remains to be emptied, leaving only the solitary Tathagatagarbha. It cannot be relinquished nor is it relinquishable; it cannot be emptied nor is it emptyable. There is no one left to relinquish it, no one left to empty it. At this point, one arrives at the ultimate realization, accomplishing the thirty-two response bodies, and is named the Greatly Compassionate and Greatly Merciful Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva.

Can ordinary beings attain such a supreme state? It is fundamentally impossible. For ordinary beings, even attaining the first dhyana is extremely difficult, let alone the four dhyanas and eight samadhis, or the various kinds of samadhi. For ordinary beings, severing the view of self, realizing the Tathagatagarbha, emptying the body of five aggregates, or relinquishing greed and desire are all exceedingly arduous. How then could they possibly empty all dharmas or relinquish all dharmas? How could they empty even emptiness itself or relinquish even the act of relinquishing? How can one speak of emptying the Tathagatagarbha or relinquishing the Tathagatagarbha? This Dharma Gate is extremely difficult to cultivate even after awakening; it remains challenging even for those who have entered the Bodhisattva grounds. How then could sentient beings still in the stage of ordinary beings possibly accomplish it? Therefore, the practice of ordinary sentient beings must follow a sequence — progressing from the shallow to the profound, step by step, in due order. One cannot wish to pluck the moon while still unable to fly. Even great Bodhisattvas who have attained realization must practice progressively from the shallow to the profound, step by step, in due order; they cannot practice in a leapfrogging manner.