Where Is the Protagonist When There Is No Dreaming and No Thinking?

Where is the master of the house when there is no dreaming and no thinking? This is the content of the third gate of Chan. Whether or not one has broken through the first and second gates, this content must not be taught or explained. Otherwise, what would be the point of studying Buddhism and investigating Chan? Only after passing through the first and second gates, cultivating meditative concentration to attain the first dhyāna, realizing the mirage contemplation, and becoming a non-returner (Anāgāmin), can one reach the third gate of Chan and begin investigating the third gate. At that point, even more so, one must not seek others' explanations. Whatever requires investigation must be investigated by oneself, personally, and realized by oneself, personally. If you merely hear it spoken by others, you cannot realize it—then how could the Buddha-Way still be cultivated onward?

If you investigate and uncover the content of the third gate yourself, and also understand some of the theoretical knowledge of Yogācāra, you can enter the first bhūmi. But the gate of the first dhyāna will probably stump everyone. In the past, I still harbored the hope that someone might cultivate the first dhyāna and become a non-returner, and thus have a certain qualification to enter the first bhūmi. Now it seems there is little hope. Why is it that people in today's world find cultivating meditative concentration so difficult? Because the five desires and the six sense objects are too alluring. In truth, it is that people are too attached to the five desires and the six sense objects. Sense objects have no mind to entangle people; it is people who have the mind to chase after objects. Yet no one is willing to settle the mind and depart from the five desires—what can be done about it?

The first gate: "Who drags this corpse around?" If this conclusion were made public and told to you, what use would it be? If you do not personally investigate it, the manas will not accord with it. Knowing all the answers, knowing the most detailed answer, knowing the state of a Buddha's ground—what use is that? If it were useful, then we could all read the Buddhist sūtras, research out the states of the Buddha-ground, and all of us together swiftly attain buddhahood—wouldn't that be wonderful?

Does knowing that all dharmas are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows mean one has already realized that all dharmas are dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows? Does knowing the state of the Buddha-ground make one a Buddha?

If an ordinary being understands and can describe the realm of cultivation of an arhat (the fourth fruit), does that mean he possesses the attainment of an arhat? If an ordinary being can describe how to accomplish the Buddha-Way, has he already become a Buddha?

To sum up: for many dharmas, it is useless for the conscious mind to easily know, understand, and comprehend them. One must still rely on the manas to personally realize them. Only when they are realized can there be the wisdom of liberation and buddhahood. Without realization, even if one speaks with dazzling eloquence, it is of no use whatsoever.