True Attainment of the Fruit and False Attainment of the Fruit

In the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sūtra, when the World-Honored One expounded on the five aggregates of grasping (pañca-upādāna-skandha), He also spoke of the inner dharmas and outer dharmas of form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness. Inner form is the material body; outer form is the six sense objects. Inner feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness refer to the manas; outer feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness refer to the mind consciousness.

When the World-Honored One expounded on the seven factors of enlightenment, He also divided the seven factors of enlightenment into inner seven factors of enlightenment and outer seven factors of enlightenment. The factor of investigation of dharmas, the factor of effort, the factor of joy, the factor of reliance (tranquility), the factor of meditative concentration (samādhi), and the factor of equanimity are all divided into the outer factors of the mind consciousness and the inner factors of the manas. When the inner seven factors of enlightenment have not been cultivated to accomplishment, it is impossible to attain the fruits of the Small Vehicle, impossible to eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), let alone to see the mind and see the nature. Without accomplishing the thirty-seven aids to the Path, do not speak of attaining the fruits of either the Great or Small Vehicle; without accomplishing tranquility of body and mind, without accomplishing meditative concentration, without the existence of neutral feeling (upekṣā-vedanā) in the mind, one cannot eradicate the view of self, and cannot see the mind and see the nature. These are the hard criteria of Buddhist practice and realization, which no one can bypass. If one insists on claiming that so-and-so has attained a fruit and has seen the mind, those are all plastic fruits—fine to look at, but they cannot fill the belly and have no real value.

From the World-Honored One's description of the seven factors of enlightenment, the manas possesses the factor of investigation of dharmas, the factor of effort (true diligence), the factor of joy (the manas is not limited to neutral feeling), the factor of tranquility, the factor of meditative concentration (corresponding with samādhi), and the factor of equanimity. Only afterward, when the mental actions conform to the Noble Eightfold Path, can the conditions for attaining the fruits of the Small Vehicle be complete, so that one can eradicate the view of self and attain the first fruit; otherwise, all are false fruits and plastic fruits. When the conditions are not complete and the causes and conditions are not complete, forcing guidance can only yield a false fruit.

Among the seven factors of enlightenment, there is the factor of investigation of dharmas. When one cultivates to this stage, one has the ability to discern. However, when something far exceeds one's current level, one again lacks the ability to make judgments, and then one must continue cultivating. The factor of investigation of dharmas must be continuously advanced until it is perfectly complete, so that one can immediately and correctly discern all dharmas without doubt.