The Steps of Buddhist Cultivation and Realization

Many facts lie before us, yet without careful reflection, no conclusion can be reached. Only by raising questions about these facts and pondering them over and over with meticulous thought can one discover the truth behind the facts and arrive at a conclusion. This conclusion is new cognition, and it is also the crystallization of wisdom. This is true in daily life, and it is equally true in the cultivation and realization of the Buddha-dharma: one must go through collecting evidence, discovering facts, raising questioning doubt, and concentrating one's thinking, and only then arrive at a conclusion—thereby breaking through ignorance and giving birth to wisdom.

Which of these steps is the most difficult? Is it collecting factual materials, discovering facts, raising questioning doubt, or concentrating one's thinking? There are many facts in life, yet we often turn a blind eye to them and remain numb and indifferent; we do not raise doubts about these facts, much less contemplate what principles lie behind them. As a result, we cannot make any discoveries, cannot overturn our previous mistaken views, and cannot increase our wisdom. Being unable to raise doubt means not being awakened; possessing an awakened mind is extremely important.