Is Conviction Truly Unwavering Certainty?

It is said that scientists have used instruments to detect that the Earth is elliptical, and almost everyone believes it, seemingly with unwavering conviction, as if such belief has become deeply ingrained and unchangeable. Some who disbelieve may even debate others or mock and ridicule them. Yet this is not genuine, doubt-free faith. Faith exists at many levels, to the extent that some hold beliefs with absolute certainty, utterly without doubt. However, unless personally verified, such faith remains blind faith and superstition—not verified faith—so doubt still persists, albeit deeply hidden and not easily observable. 

Knowing the Earth is elliptical is merely hearsay, not personally witnessed; it is knowledge acquired secondhand by the conscious mind. Since the manas (the fundamental mind) has not directly perceived it, doubt remains unremoved. Moreover, what many see with their own eyes may not necessarily be true or real; cases of misperception are numerous. Seeing is not necessarily believing, so the doubt within the manas cannot be eliminated. Once another circumstance arises, claiming the Earth is not elliptical but rhombus-shaped or triangular, many people's previous faith wavers, turning into disbelief. Why does faith change? Precisely because there is no verified realization. The conviction of the conscious mind, regardless of its intensity, is unreliable. When circumstances change, doubt within the conscious mind emerges. Why? Because the manas never truly believed in the first place; its doubt was never severed. When circumstances shift, lacking the support of the manas' verified realization, the conscious mind becomes fickle, losing its anchor. Or rather, the conscious mind is always anchored in the manas; at critical moments, it inevitably follows the manas. Only by truly seeing the Earth and witnessing its shape holistically and macroscopically can the manas eliminate doubt and generate genuine faith. In the future, even if circumstances change, the manas will remain unwavering in its faith, and thus the conscious mind, following the manas, will also remain steadfast. Even if the conscious mind harbors doubt, it will be ineffective and will still trust the manas. 

Some say that as long as you yourself are certain you have severed the view of self and harbor no doubt, you have attained the first fruit (Sotāpanna). How utterly naive and laughable such a claim is! Is the unwavering conviction of an ordinary person reliable? If it were reliable, why are sentient beings so fickle, changing their beliefs at the slightest disturbance? If the certainty and lack of doubt in ordinary people were reliable, why did the Buddha say, "Do not believe your own mind, your mind is not to be trusted," and state that only upon attaining Arhatship can you trust your mind?

Historically, recorded individuals who confirmed others' severance of the view of self and attainment of the fruit were, first, the Buddha himself during his lifetime, and second, the Fourth Patriarch Prajñāgupta after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa. The Buddha, needless to say, possessed immeasurable wisdom, limitless supernatural powers, and omniscience. With the power of knowing others' minds and remembering past lives, he could perceive the thoughts of all sentient beings exactly as they were. He could immediately know whether his disciples had attained the fruit without even meeting them. Prajñāgupta, the Fourth Patriarch, not only attained Arhatship but also possessed great supernatural powers. He even personally subdued Māra's various provocations, restoring purity to the Buddhist community. Given Prajñāgupta's level of liberation attainment and his powers of knowing others' minds and remembering past lives, he could, of course, immediately know whether his disciples had attained the fruit, without error. Others, lacking such realization, insufficient wisdom and attainment, and devoid of supernatural powers and spiritual strength, likely cannot observe others' mental states accurately and therefore cannot confirm whether someone has attained the fruit. Only those with extremely profound wisdom, who have attained the fruit countless times over many lifetimes, possessing rich experience, may be able to accurately confirm the time and fact of someone's attainment even without supernatural powers. Apart from these, others lack the ability and qualification to confirm attainment for others. Moreover, self-confirmation by ordinary beings, due to lack of experience, inevitably leads to erroneous judgments, and the consequences are unimaginable. 

Cultivating the Buddha Dharma demands even more pragmatism and strictness than worldly affairs. One must not trifle with the Dharma, thinking it simple. Nothing is more difficult than the Buddha Dharma, because sentient beings have been engaged in worldly affairs since beginningless kalpas; the Dharma is utterly unfamiliar and distant to them. Compounded by heavy karmic obstacles, the hindrances are often beyond our imagination. Therefore, diligently studying the Buddha's teachings and practicing cultivation is our fundamental duty, lest we increase karmic obstacles and afflictions, sinking deeper into the abyss of birth and death.