Spiritual Cultivation and Fruition Are a Priceless Treasure Beyond the Measure of Wealth

For sentient beings to attain the fourth fruition and become a fully liberated great arhat is by no means a simple matter. For ordinary people, attaining the first fruition alone is already a praiseworthy achievement, as it exempts them from the karma of the three evil realms, ensuring they will never fall into them again. Such an outcome is immensely valuable—even if one were to offer all worldly possessions in exchange, it would be utterly insufficient. Not even countless billions could procure such a reward; it is a priceless treasure.

As for sentient beings trapped in the three evil realms of hell, even if they possessed all the wealth on Earth, it might not suffice to obtain a human rebirth. The attachments accumulated by an individual since beginningless time can be eradicated within a single lifetime—swifter than traveling by airplane, indeed faster than any aircraft. Before those who have severed worldly attachments (the third and fourth fruition practitioners) embark on the Buddhist path, they often find everything in the world disagreeable. At times, they feel deeply distressed, for their conduct and behavior differ from ordinary beings in every way, making them seem like outsiders. They frequently cannot comprehend why this is so. Only after studying Buddhism do they realize that they are fundamentally different. If an individual's physical, verbal, and mental actions are indistinguishable from others at all times—if they indulge in greed, hatred, and delusion just like other beings, and if their afflictions are as heavy as those of ordinary people—then it would be difficult for such a person to attain even the first fruition in this lifetime, let alone the fourth fruition.