Only When Consciousness and Manas Attain the Same State Can Realization Be Achieved

A telescope can instantly see mountains and oceans several or dozens of kilometers away, yet to personally witness and touch those mountains and oceans, one must traverse dozens of kilometers on foot, arriving at the foot of the mountain or the edge of the sea. Only then can one see the mountains and oceans with one's own eyes, touch them, and thereby know their appearance and form. Only then can one say to others: "I have seen that mountain and that ocean with my own eyes; they are truly magnificent. My state of mind instantly expanded, and I was utterly overjoyed." The state of samādhi is analogous to this. Manas (the mind faculty) must personally arrive there, abandoning the telescope, seeing with its own eyes; only then is there the samādhi of unified concentration and wisdom. If manas does not arrive, it is merely seeing through a telescope—not true seeing, not unconditional seeing, not naked seeing.

Consciousness is like a telescope. No matter how far it gazes upon a state, what it sees is not real; the state is blurred and indistinct. What manas sees is clear, lucid, penetrating to the very source of phenomena. If manas does not keep pace and cannot perceive what consciousness sees, it is not firsthand seeing, not personally encountering the present state, not personal realization. Because what consciousness sees is distant from the actual state, its perception is unreal, as if separated by a layer of lens, obstructed and obscured. The scenery is neither detailed nor clear, merely an outline. The details must await manas personally going to see before they can be examined and understood in their entirety.

While in the state of an ordinary being, consciousness may study some Buddhist sutras and learn about the Buddha's state. But if manas does not know it, it is not personal realization of the Buddha's state. This kind of knowing is incomparably coarse, practically no different from not knowing. To personally realize the Buddha's state, to know it finely, deeply, and truly, one must cultivate for another three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas—that is, three immeasurable kalpas. There are no shortcuts in between. All the dharmas that should be cultivated must be cultivated; all the dharmas that should be realized must be realized. Śīla (precepts), samādhi (concentration), prajñā (wisdom), the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment, the six pāramitās of the bodhisattva—none of these practices can be omitted. The entire process in between must be personally experienced; cutting corners or taking shortcuts is absolutely impossible.

While in the state of an ordinary being, consciousness may learn some Dharma and know about the state of effortless operation (anābhoga-caryā) that an eighth-ground bodhisattva should possess—the ability to operate spontaneously within the Dharma without mental exertion, directly perceiving the ālaya-vijñāna's discrimination and operation regarding the body, senses, and the material world. However, regarding this state, consciousness may know it, but its knowing is extremely coarse. It is still two immeasurable kalpas of cultivation and realization away from actual attainment. During this period, no matter what you say, you cannot directly perceive exactly how the ālaya-vijñāna discriminates and operates the body, senses, and material world. To personally realize this state, you must cultivate for another two great asaṃkhyeya kalpas. The intermediate process must be fully traversed; no corner-cutting or trickery is allowed.

While in the state of an ordinary being, consciousness may learn the term "samādhi of suchness" (tathatā-samādhi) and feel it is excellent and supreme. But as for what exactly constitutes the samādhi of suchness, what its state is like—the mind knows nothing about it. What is known and seen is merely a conjecture. To personally witness the state of the samādhi of suchness, one must cultivate for another immeasurable kalpa, that is, one great asaṃkhyeya kalpa. Because the samādhi of suchness is the state of suchness, realized upon all dharmas, seeing that all dharmas or any part of dharmas are of the nature of suchness—all are the true and thusness nature of the tathāgatagarbha, all are part of the one true dharma realm.

How all dharmas are ultimately of the nature of suchness, how they are all one true dharma realm—this is the state of the wisdom of the path (mārga-jñāna) and the wisdom of all modes (sarvākāra-jñāna). It is a state that only bodhisattvas of the first ground (bhūmi) and above, who have entered the Tathāgata's family, have the capacity to directly observe. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas of the first ground and above partially realize the dharmakāya; they are partial-realization Buddhas, partially realizing the one true dharma realm. Only then do they know part of the suchness nature of all dharmas. Even if an ordinary being truly realizes the tathāgatagarbha, they are still far too distant from the wisdom state of the samādhi of suchness. They can only think about it; they absolutely cannot see it. When one sees it, one possesses the wisdom of the path (mārga-jñāna) and becomes a great bodhisattva who has entered the grounds (bhūmis).

While in the state of an ordinary being, consciousness may study the Diamond Sutra and know that all dharmas are like a dream, a bubble, a shadow. But no matter how much consciousness feels that all dharmas are like a dream, bubble, or shadow, one must still undergo cultivation for nearly an asaṃkhyeya kalpa, reaching the stage of the ten stages of dedication (daśa-pariṇāmanā), to personally realize the state of being like a dream. In between, one must gradually realize the tathāgatagarbha, initiate various samādhis, cultivate the first dhyāna, eradicate the manifest activity of greed, hatred, and delusion, become a third-fruition person (anāgāmin), pass the three barriers of Chan Buddhism, directly realize the remnant nirvāṇa (sopadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa), and upon death, have the ability to enter the nirvāṇa without remainder (anupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa) yet choose not to, retaining one portion of the affliction of discursive thought to nourish the five-aggregate body through life after life, continuing to liberate oneself and others. Without meeting these conditions, without passing through these states, what consciousness feels to be like a dream, illusion, bubble, or shadow is merely talking about food—how can it satisfy hunger?

What the telescope of consciousness glimpses may be vastly distant from what manas personally sees with its own eyes. Glimpsing is easy and quick, but personal realization requires manas to measure step by step with its feet, personally walking to the edge of that state before it can see that state. It is extremely arduous, demanding immense cost and effort. The states seen by the two are extremely inconsistent. Therefore, glimpsing is one thing, but realization requires a considerable length of time to become possible. Before realization, one can only indulge in talk, merely speaking about it. Do not think realizing any Dharma is easy; that is an illusion. In reality, it is not like that; it is extremely difficult. The karmic obstructions of immeasurable kalpas are as massive as a mountain—how could they be so easily eliminated or overcome? Although the Buddha's power of blessing is inconceivable, one's own karmic force is equally inconceivable. Only when karmic obstructions are eliminated, and roots of goodness, merit, and various causes and conditions are all complete, does manas draw close to consciousness, merging with what consciousness sees. Only then can there be sudden enlightenment; apart from this, it is all misunderstanding and error.