All Dharmas Can Only Be Confirmed Without Doubt Through Personal Realization

The most crucial aspect is the ability to personally realize all dharmas and directly perceive them through direct perception. Even the words spoken by the Buddha himself should be personally observed and verified before they can be confirmed without doubt. The truth personally realized and verified is fact, and fact is more reliable than the Buddha's words. The words spoken by the Buddha himself are more reliable than the transmitted Buddhist scriptures, as the scriptures have passed through others' mouths and hands, constituting a retelling. Buddhist scriptures are more reliable than the treatises of bodhisattvas of equal enlightenment; the treatises of bodhisattvas of equal enlightenment are more reliable than those of other bodhisattvas; and the treatises of other great bodhisattvas are more reliable than the words of ordinary beings. Ultimately, however reliable the scriptures and treatises may be, nothing is more reliable than direct realization.

Yet today, even if the Buddha himself were to come and teach the Dharma, all sentient beings could only accept the Buddhist scriptures on faith; they could not believe the words spoken by the Buddha himself. This is because they would not know it was the Buddha manifesting in the world, and they lack the wisdom to discern whether the Dharma meaning is correct and true. Thus, their faith would be blind faith and reverential faith, not faith based on realization, nor true faith. It would merely be faith in the Buddha's reputation and prestige. If sentient beings believed it was the Buddha personally coming to the Saha world to teach the Dharma, then they would believe the words spoken by the one appearing in the form of the Buddha, and they would not necessarily believe the Buddhist scriptures, even if the scriptures were utterly correct and true. This also illustrates that sentient beings' faith in the Buddha and his teachings is blind and reverential, not based on realization. If one believes the Dharma taught by someone appearing in the form of the Buddha, then what if Mara manifests a Buddha form to teach the Dharma? How should one respond? One would have to believe it completely, and then be led astray, sinking into the cycle of birth and death, unable to attain liberation.

Therefore, above all else, only direct realization is reliable. Believing only in facts, believing only in truth – this is the principle everyone should follow. However, realizing the truth is an extremely difficult feat, requiring immense merit and wisdom. This is precisely why sentient beings have no choice but to believe what others say; it is an act of helplessness. Hence, when the Buddha was about to depart, he earnestly admonished his disciples to uphold the "Four Reliances and Four Non-reliances." This clearly shows that the Four Reliances and Four Non-reliances are extremely difficult to practice; almost ninety-nine percent of people cannot do it due to deficiencies in merit, meditative concentration, and wisdom.

On the other hand, whenever the importance of trusting direct realization is mentioned, there will be those burdened with deep arrogance who trust only their own inferences and understandings, believing this to be their own realization. They then cease to believe what those who have genuinely realized say, becoming increasingly arrogant until they deceive themselves and others, ultimately failing to gain the benefits of the Dharma. In the Dharma-Ending Age, the phenomena surrounding Buddhist practice are such that even the Buddha would find it difficult to manage. Sentient beings veer to extremes: they are either blindly following or excessively self-confident due to arrogance. Those lacking wisdom find it very hard to grasp an appropriate measure, difficult to maintain a suitable balance. One could say even the world's physicians would throw up their hands in resignation.