Attaining the Fruit through Consciousness Still Makes One a Fettered Ordinary Being

Attaining fruition through consciousness is exceptionally swift and effortless, requiring little cost, no mental exertion in meditation, and most importantly, no cultivation of meditative concentration (dhyāna). This is incredibly convenient, as the stage of meditative concentration is the most difficult to pass through—it is particularly arduous, time-consuming, and involves enduring physical hardship (like leg pain), while also interfering with many worldly affairs. Attaining fruition through consciousness requires little adherence to precepts; even the Three Refuges and Five Precepts can be waived. The troublesome Thirty-seven Aids to Enlightenment need not be cultivated, saving an immense amount of time and energy. One doesn't even need particularly good merit; the first five of the Six Pāramitās can be omitted. It’s all so effortless. One merely needs to learn theoretical knowledge using consciousness, then engage in thinking, understanding, analyzing, pondering, reasoning, synthesizing, and summarizing. None of these operations require deep concentration or much mental effort; they are akin to the routine work of a minor secretary, manageable by someone of average intelligence.

How cheap this way of attaining fruition is! It demands little cost, while a wealth of theoretical knowledge can dazzle others and earn admiration. There's no need to abandon wife and children to leave home and cultivate the path, no need to sever familial ties or renounce affections. Engaging in romantic relationships is called "delivering sentient beings." One doesn’t abandon worldly pursuits, can still receive offerings from the public, and can even become a Bodhisattva Dharma Master or a Noble Saṅgha member, surpassing ordained monks. This way, one enjoys the benefits of both the monastic and lay life, maximizing worldly gains. With so many advantages to attaining fruition through consciousness, who would be willing to give it up?

However, after attaining fruition in this way, one cannot sever even the slightest affliction (kleśa) and is fundamentally no different from an ordinary being bound by all fetters (sakṛdāgāmin). Some make excuses for themselves, saying that only the third fruition (Anāgāmin) and the fourth fruition (Arhat) sever afflictions, while the first fruition (Srotāpanna) and second fruition (Sakṛdāgāmin) still have afflictions, which is not surprising. They claim that a first fruition practitioner has just as many and just as heavy afflictions as an ordinary person, which is also deemed unsurprising. If the first fruition is said to be the same as an ordinary being bound by all fetters, then it means the first fruition practitioner is essentially an ordinary being fully endowed with all afflictions. The first fruition would then be nominal without substance—how could such a person be a first fruition practitioner who has severed the view of self (satkāyadṛṣṭi)? If Buddhism is practiced this way, how can it avoid extinction?

Although there are many heretical teachings and masters in the world, those heretical methods are shallow and cannot destroy the foundation of Buddhism or shake its roots. For example, a certain Dharma Master’s explanation of the Tathāgatagarbha is pure nonsense, yet he cannot influence the mainstream development of Buddhism. The sentient beings he "delivers" have very shallow roots; even if painstakingly pulled out, they achieve nothing significant and pose no threat to Buddhism. Another example is the tantric sexual practices (maithuna) promoted by Vajrayāna; that is fundamentally a heretical teaching, extremely low and inferior. People with a modicum of wisdom can discern this and won’t fall into it. Most who do fall in are those with deep karmic obstructions and shallow roots of virtue. Even if great effort is made to rescue them, they cannot become influential; they cannot become the pillars of Buddhism. What can destroy Buddhism can never be external paths (tīrthika) or their teachings; destruction always comes from within Buddhism itself. As the saying goes, "The worms within the lion's body devour the lion's flesh."

Therefore, the foundation and focus of the Buddha Dharma across the three periods (past, present, future) lie in the crucial link of attaining fruition and realizing the mind to see its true nature (mingxin jianxing). As long as this link does not suffer major problems, the future development of Buddhism will be secure. Hence, the fundamental Dharma of severing the view of self and realizing the mind to see its true nature cannot be transmitted by just anyone. It absolutely must not be handled recklessly. If one recklessly harms the Dharma-body wisdom-life (dharmakāya-prajñā-jīvita) of sentient beings, then in the future, even wishing to be reborn as a wild fox for five hundred lifetimes would be a deluded fantasy—the karmic retribution suffered would be countless times more severe than that. Protecting those who transmit the Dharma recklessly is equivalent to abetting evil; the karmic retribution is also quite severe. Therefore, I respectfully urge everyone to deeply contemplate cause and effect, treat the Buddha Dharma with utmost seriousness, and uphold a highly responsible attitude towards sentient beings and Buddhism.