Realization Addresses the Great Matter of Life and Death

If everyone could practice according to the method taught in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta, the achievements of the Hinayana path could be swiftly attained, and meditative concentration would certainly be realized. However, people's minds are now too scattered to complete these contemplative practices. During the Buddha's lifetime, the bhikkhus practiced precisely in this manner.

Looking at the present, the theoretical aspects of both Mahayana and Hinayana required for our practice are nearly sufficient. The deficiency lies solely in practical application. Actual practice necessitates cultivating precepts, meditation, and wisdom, and fulfilling the Six Paramitas of the Bodhisattva path, particularly the cultivation of both merit and meditative concentration. When individual practice proves difficult, group practice becomes essential. While the Buddha was alive, he never led group practice sessions; each practitioner sat cross-legged, engaged in contemplation and reflection upon the Dharma he had expounded, and subsequently attained realization.

Modern people are excessively busy with life and work, leaving no time for seated meditation. Yet, it remains an undeniable fact that meditative concentration truly cannot be advanced, reflections remain shallow and lack depth, and realization of the Dharma remains unattainable. The vast difference between the concentration attained after seated meditation and the concentration maintained only during walking, standing, sitting, and lying down can only be understood by those who have experienced seated meditation. One must find a way oneself; one must take responsibility for oneself. It is not that possessing a vast knowledge of theory constitutes having attained the Way, nor does eloquent discourse imply enlightenment. After genuine realization, even without being articulate, one possesses the Way; eloquent speech without actual realization is not the Way.

Only actual realization can resolve the great matter of birth and death. No other endeavor is more important than the accomplishment of the Path. One should be willing to die rather than forsake the achievement of the Path. Otherwise, what use is worldly success during one's lifetime?