Verbal Chan Is Not Equivalent to Spiritual Practice and Actual Realization

Cultivation before enlightenment has many stages, and cultivation after enlightenment also has many stages. If one practices according to the methods used after enlightenment before having attained it, such effort is futile, for without having entered the gate, one cannot accomplish the tasks within. For those who have just attained enlightenment or have not yet attained it, attempting to practice according to the methods of Bodhisattvas on the grounds (bhūmis) will be even less effective. Holding lofty theories in hand and believing oneself to have realized them, thinking one is like a sage or tathāgatagarbha, is purely self-deception. Many people, upon hearing the phrase "afflictions are bodhi," assume that viewing afflictions as illusory manifestations of tathāgatagarbha constitutes practice, and thus make no effort to subdue afflictions. The result is that afflictions remain afflictions, bodhi remains bodhi, and after death, they still sink into the cycle of birth and death. What benefit is there?

Some, understanding that tathāgatagarbha is beyond cultivation and realization, believe that the seven consciousnesses and five aggregates should also be beyond cultivation and realization. Since tathāgatagarbha is the primordial Buddha, they think they can simply become Buddhas at home. Others, hearing that all dharmas arise from discrimination, seek to avoid discrimination altogether, believing that by not discriminating, the mind becomes empty and free of dharmas. Since tathāgatagarbha does not discriminate, they too should not discriminate, reasoning that they shouldn't complain even after seven days of hunger.

Indeed, all dharmas are like illusions, but this is the realization of Bodhisattvas at the ten abodes (daśa-vihāra) or higher. If one has not yet reached this level of cultivation and lacks this actual realization, one should not constantly repeat the word "illusion" like a mantra. Since tathāgatagarbha does not uphold precepts, some believe they too should act freely and indulge recklessly like tathāgatagarbha, without restraint. They fail to realize that their own minds are filled with greed, hatred, and delusion—how could they possibly indulge recklessly and act freely? Empty talk often leads astray. Those who can talk for miles but cannot walk an inch would do best to engage in solid, practical cultivation, and cease their lofty talk and impractical ambitions.