The Principle of Attracting and Guiding Power

Question: Why does listening to the Dharma in person have greater absorbing power and yield better results compared to reading books or listening to recordings? When listening to the master speak, one can generate concentration and comprehension along with the master’s voice, gaining deeper understanding and realization of the Dharma meaning, and thus deriving more benefit from the Dharma. Why is this so?

Answer: When reading books or listening to recordings, one relies on conscious imagination and thinking to visualize corresponding scenarios. This process involves a higher proportion of inferential cognition and incorrect cognition, resulting in diminished effectiveness and weaker absorbing power. During immediate reception in person, there is a greater component of direct perception. Additionally, there is an intersection and resonance between the mental faculties of both parties, producing a magnetic field effect. This occurs because the mental faculty most trusts what is seen with one’s own eyes; under such direct observation, resonance is most readily achieved.

When reading, the mental faculty does not witness directly, and the distance is great. One must rely on the thinking and imagination of consciousness, leading to slower resonance and weaker absorbing power. The body language and facial expressions observed in person, along with the sounds heard directly, all enhance one’s understanding and feelings. This allows the mental faculty to strengthen its observation through direct perception, facilitating greater resonance and stronger absorbing power. Therefore, when the Buddha was in the world, disciples closely followed him, unwilling to part from him, because separation from the Buddha meant the loss of this powerful absorbing power.