What Is Dṛṣṭi?

The term "ground" (地) in "insight-ground" (见地) refers to the stages of cultivation and realization, denoting one's attained status and level. In the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Bodhisattva Maitreya delineates seventeen grounds, ranging from the ground of ordinary beings to the ground of Buddhahood. Each ground represents a distinct identity and progressively higher status, differentiated by variations in merit, wisdom, and meditative concentration. Among these, the nine grounds within the desire realm are classified based on merit, while the grounds of the form realm and formless realm are classified based on meditative concentration, with wisdom serving as an auxiliary factor. The grounds of ordinary beings, arhats, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and Buddhas are classified according to the measure of realization, which encompasses merit, meditative concentration, and wisdom.

Therefore, the term "insight-ground" cannot be applied to ordinary beings. It is only when one's knowledge and views are verified through actual realization, when one's understanding is confirmed, and when one attains the patience of non-arising (anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti) and the patience of the non-arising of dharmas, that one possesses a certain level of liberating wisdom. At this point, one's status ascends to the level of sages and worthies, and one's former knowledge, views, and understanding transform into "insight-ground."

Knowledge, views, ideas, and opinions that have not been verified can only be called knowledge, understanding, or personal thoughts. To verify the correctness of one's views and understanding, one must cultivate morality, concentration, and wisdom; investigate within meditative concentration; and personally realize and directly perceive, rather than engaging in distant contemplation, subjective speculation, or conjecture. Subjective conjecture cannot resolve doubts; only that which is personally witnessed and verified can resolve doubts. Only after resolving doubts can liberating wisdom arise, leading to a fundamental transformation of body, mind, and world. From then on, one's level of thought, identity, and status are all elevated.