Attaining Fruition Through Consciousness: A Deviant Path in Spiritual Practice During the Dharma-Ending Age

The Saha World is fraught with numerous deviations on the path of spiritual practice. Without substantial roots of goodness and merit, it is truly difficult to discern the correct direction, especially in subtle matters. Without having walked that path, one can easily stray into error. A minor deviation alone is enough to waste an immense amount of practice time, and extricating oneself is not easy, let alone major deviations, which are even harder to recognize and withdraw from. Is the matter of "attaining the fruition and realizing the mind" considered complete if only the sixth consciousness attains it, or must the seventh consciousness (manas) also attain the fruition and realize the mind together? Is this question a minor deviation or a major one? Is the notion that one can attain Bodhi without severing afflictions a minor or major deviation?

The issue of verifying the Dharma is the most critical matter for both individual sentient beings and the entire Buddhist community. It is a pivotal point concerning life and death, survival and extinction. Therefore, while other teachings may contain errors, this particular issue absolutely cannot be wrong. If this issue is mistaken, it signifies a fundamental error in principle, a grave error concerning the destiny of sentient beings and Buddhism itself. As we move deeper into the Dharma-ending Age, deviations in the practice and verification of the Dharma multiply. In ancient times, people studying Buddhism engaged in cultivation and practice; in modern times, most who study Buddhism can only be said to be "studying," rarely involving cultivation and practice. Yet, among the ancient practitioners, those who attained enlightenment were slow and few, while in the Dharma-ending Age, among those merely "studying," enlightenment seems to come quickly and to many. Isn't this highly abnormal? Indeed, it is profoundly abnormal. The future extinction of the Dharma will occur precisely here, extinguished at its very root of practice and verification. Without genuine realization, the Dharma will struggle to endure. This is why, for many years, I have been emphasizing the attainment of fruition through the manas and the realization of the mind through the manas. I have written several books on the manas, fearing that the Dharma might be rapidly extinguished through misunderstanding.

I have explained the attainment of fruition through the manas exhaustively from every angle, yet there are still dull-witted scholars and teachers who stubbornly refuse to accept this principle, and dare not accept it. For once they accept it, their own fruition status in both the Mahayana and Hinayana traditions would collapse, vanishing entirely, reducing them to mere ordinary beings—truly an outcome they are unwilling to accept! However, acting this way is highly irrational. It shows they do not prioritize the path of enlightenment, nor do they take the Dharma and truth as their ultimate refuge. Evading facts is not the behavior of a noble person; it is a manifestation of self-attachment.

If sentient beings possess deep roots of goodness and merit, even if they encounter deviations, they will ultimately rely on their own roots of goodness and merit to find their way out of the deviation and return to the correct path. Therefore, every Buddhist practitioner should cultivate more merit and plant more roots of goodness. Only then can they ensure they avoid deviations in this life and future lives, possess the eye of discerning the Dharma, have the power of discrimination, avoid being misled, and not fall into the evil destinies. As the Dharma-ending Age progresses, opportunities to cultivate merit and plant roots of goodness actually increase. Those who truly wish to attain the Way and have generated great resolve and vows should seize every opportunity to plant more roots of goodness and merit. In doing so, they will not only benefit infinitely life after life but also accelerate the process of their Buddhist practice and realization, attaining wisdom and liberation sooner, benefiting themselves and others.