Can a Mind Seeking Gain Attain the Fruit of Liberation?

There are always people who say to me: "Master, I wish to attain the fruit of enlightenment, I wish to see my true nature, I wish to reach the seventh abiding stage. How should I practice? Could you please help me?"

What is the state of mind of those who harbor such thoughts? How should I help them? Where there is worldly benefit, people flock to it; similarly, where there is benefit in Buddhism, people also flock to it. Why do sentient beings rush toward places of benefit? Because there is self, possessions, dharmas, and grasping—thus there arises seeking. With a mind that clings to self and seeks, can one gain any benefit from the Dharma? Only when there is no self and no seeking is there fruit; how can there be fruit when there is self and seeking?

These sentient beings who study Buddhism believe there is a fruit to be attained. Seeing the benefits of the fruit within the Dharma, they rush straight toward the place of benefit, ready to seize it. Can such an approach lead to any genuine realization? Why are false attainments so rampant nowadays? How can those who seize false fruits with a grasping mind avoid falling into the three evil destinies? If the mind’s attachment to attainment is not emptied, if benefit is not emptied, if fame and gain are not emptied, how can one sever the view of self? Without severing the view of self, can one attain the fruit?

Only when there is no self, no person, no sentient being, and no life span can one sever the view of self and realize the fruit. Those who grasp false fruits with a mind of seeking only strengthen their view of self and self-attachment, making the notions of self, person, sentient being, and life span even heavier. This contradicts the Way and runs counter to it. The Way is liberation; turning away from the Way is birth and death. The secular world is a realm of fame and gain. In the eyes of some, the Buddhist community is likewise a realm of fame and gain. Where there is fame and gain to be had, chasing after fame and gain within Buddhism only leads further toward birth and death.

Dedication: May the merit from all Dharma propagation and group practice on our online platform be dedicated to all sentient beings in the Dharma realm and to people around the world. May we pray for world peace and the cessation of war; may conflict and strife never arise, and weapons be forever laid down; may all disasters completely subside! May the people of all nations unite in mutual aid, treating one another with compassion; may there be favorable weather, national prosperity, and peace for all! May all sentient beings deeply believe in cause and effect, harbor compassionate minds free from killing, widely cultivate wholesome connections, and extensively practice virtuous deeds; may they have faith in the Buddha, study the Dharma, and increase their wholesome roots; may they understand suffering, cease its origins, yearn for cessation, and cultivate the path; may they close the door to evil destinies and open the path to Nirvana! May Buddhism flourish forever and the true Dharma endure eternally; may the burning house of the three realms be transformed into the pure land of ultimate bliss!