Even Remembering and Upholding the Profound Teachings as Numerous as the Sands of the Ganges Is Mere Conceptual Proliferation

In the Shurangama Sutra, the Buddha said to Ananda: "Although you remember and uphold the pure and wondrous principles of the twelve divisions of the sutras spoken by the Tathagatas of the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, this only increases frivolous debate. Even after accumulating kalpas of hearing and cultivation, you cannot avoid the calamity of Matangi. Recalling and upholding the Tathagata's secret and sublime teachings over countless kalpas is not as good as cultivating undefiled karma for a single day."

This passage from the Shurangama Sutra precisely points out the pain point in the practice of modern learners: they remain stuck in the intellectual study and learning of the conscious mind, without engaging in genuine Dharma practice according to the teachings. Without cultivating the sixth consciousness, no matter how many kalpas the intellect is cultivated, liberation cannot be attained. The phenomena of the Dharma-ending age are far more severe than this. The most glaring example is mistaking intellectual learning and hearing for genuine realization—a grave misunderstanding that goes unexamined. When death arrives, regret will come too late.