The Fullness of Sīla, Samādhi, and Paññā Leads to the Bucket's Bottom Falling Away

In the past, when Chan practitioners meditated to the point of realizing the eighth consciousness and attaining enlightenment, it was described as "the bottom falling out of the bucket." What is meant by "bucket"? In the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, the Buddha analogized the human body to a bucket of flesh, shaped just like a bucket. Sentient beings take this bucket of flesh as themselves, regarding it as a real, permanent, and indestructible self.

When the Chan practitioner realizes the eighth consciousness, they understand that the eighth consciousness is real, eternal, and indestructible—it is the true self. The body composed of the five aggregates is merely a false shell manifested by the eighth consciousness; it is not real, not the self, yet not different from the eighth consciousness, which is the true self. Thus, they no longer identify the five aggregates as the self, negating this bucket of flesh that is the body of five aggregates, and casting off the heavy burden of the aggregates. At this moment, both body and mind become empty, and they experience unparalleled lightness and ease. This is metaphorically described as "the bottom falling out of the bucket."

The prerequisite for the bottom falling out of the bucket is the complete fulfillment of precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom; the perfection of merit and virtue; the completion of the six pāramitās of a Bodhisattva; and the accumulation of sufficient provisions for entering the path. Only when the causes, conditions, and time are ripe can the bottom fall out. At this moment, one simultaneously attains the fruit of the first stage (Sotāpanna) in the Hinayana, severs the three fetters, and will never again fall into the three evil destinies.

This is because attaining the first fruit in the Hinayana involves realizing that the five aggregates and the eighteen elements are suffering, empty, impermanent, and devoid of self. Upon realizing the eighth consciousness, one also knows that the five aggregates and eighteen elements are not the self—they are false, illusory, and unreal. Therefore, while attaining the Mahayana fruit, one simultaneously attains the Hinayana fruit. However, attaining the Hinayana fruit does not necessarily mean one can attain the Mahayana fruit. This illustrates the principle that the Mahayana Dharma encompasses the Hinayana Dharma.