Cultivation Must Follow the Proper Sequence

Under normal circumstances, practice should proceed step by step, with each stage having its own content of practice; as the levels of practice differ, so does the content of practice. Ordinary beings have the practice methods of ordinary beings, the wise have the practice methods of the wise, and the noble ones have the practice methods of the noble ones. An ordinary being absolutely must not use the practice methods of a noble one—the gap is too great, and one simply cannot apply any effort with them.

An ordinary being can only engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) on the arising, ceasing, and impermanent transformation of the five aggregates (pañcaskandha), contemplate the Four Noble Truths of suffering, its origin, cessation, and the path, or investigate Chan in order to see one's true mind. An ordinary being cannot contemplate the states realized by an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva, such as abiding nowhere and attaching to nothing, emptying all dharmas, not grasping at signs and making distinctions, or acting spontaneously and naturally, and so on.

Ordinary beings and the wise who have awakened are still at the stage of cultivating wholesome dharmas with a deliberate mind and attachment to signs. Although the wise have already initially broken through some signs, their level is still very shallow. At this stage, to not attach to signs, and to not cognize all dharmas through signs—not only is this impossible to achieve, it will also lead to arrogance and the denial of cause and effect. For example, when an ordinary being sees meat, one should think: this is the flesh of sentient beings; out of compassion, one should not eat the flesh of sentient beings—this is the correct way of practice. At this stage one should not view meat as empty, as signless, as suchness (tathatā), and then think that eating it is the same as not eating it, and thus eat it in big mouthfuls while feeling that one has entered the state of suchness; in reality, one has entered the realm of greed and craving. This is a wrong method of practice.

For instance, when an ordinary being sees the signs of male and female, one should not say, "I empty away the signs of male and female, viewing them all as the one mark of suchness," and then, feeling in one's mind that one no longer has the signs of male and female, interact without any scruples—with the result that, due to severely insufficient meditative concentration, both parties go off the rails. This method of practice can also be called misapprehended emptiness, and the transgression is very grave. If a person of the opposite sex makes special demands on you, and you claim to not grasp at signs, not attach to signs, viewing the other person as empty, as a manifestation of suchness, and thus "go along with conditions"—as a result, the ten major precepts of the bodhisattva precepts are violated, and a place in hell is certainly registered. As for so-called "going along with conditions," you must possess the capability to go along with conditions: the mind must have realized emptiness and be genuinely able to keep the mind empty, free of arising thoughts and unattached to signs. Without the meditative power of the first dhyāna and the wisdom of a bodhisattva at the first bhūmi or above, anyone can merely think about it and talk about it—it is simply impossible to do. One must still honestly hold the precepts and cultivate practice, and must not cross the boundaries and sequence of practice.

When an ordinary being wishes to repent of the sinful karma created in the past, one should practice sign-based repentance (taking a mark as object) regarding one's evil mind and evil actions, in hopes of transforming the evil mental formations. Yet instead one practices the Mahāyāna signless repentance, forcibly convincing oneself that all afflictions are bodhi, all are the mark of suchness, while being unable to realize the signless. After convincing oneself this way, one feels at ease. But ease of mind is one thing—the sinful karma still exists and has not been eliminated, and karmic retribution shows no mercy. To do this is misapprehended emptiness, and the retribution will not be off by the slightest bit.

Our study of Buddhism and practice has its sequence and method; one must not act recklessly. What a bodhisattva can do, an ordinary being may not necessarily be able to do. Guiding those of the opposite sex by going along with conditions is beyond the capability of ordinary beings—that is the conduct of bhūmi bodhisattvas with profound dhyāna. If an ordinary being does it, one will surely fall into the three evil destinies.

The Buddha-Dharma today is utterly chaotic. Most people's mental consciousness is very clever and can understand something of the practice states of bhūmi bodhisattvas and the Buddha, so they hang the dharmas that bhūmi bodhisattvas should practice on their lips, believing they too can accomplish them. Is this possible? You are not Sudhana (Shancai Tongzi); you lack Sudhana's wholesome roots and merit, and you are unwilling to solidly cultivate concentration and contemplative practice.

In our practice, we should change the habit of "Chan of the mouth." The Buddha-Dharma must be actually practiced before it can be actually realized. Actual practice and actual realization are not slogans; there must be practical, feasible, concrete methods of practice. If there are none, then it is not actual practice, and realization is impossible. Even if we can speak the words spoken by the Buddha, it is of no use—it is merely shouting slogans. Only by taking step after step underfoot can there be any hope.