The Difference Between Genuine and False Realization

From the saying "a good memory is not as reliable as a worn pen," I think of the different functions of the mind consciousness and the manas, and their respective power to influence body, mind, and the world. With regard to some worldly matter or person, if the mind consciousness infers, deduces, or analyzes something, what difference is there compared to truly seeing it with one's own eyes, hearing it with one's own ears, or experiencing it firsthand, in terms of inner feelings and impressions? With regard to the dharma of the five aggregates and eighteen realms, and the dharma of the tathāgatagarbha, if the mind consciousness merely infers, deduces, or analyzes a result from written words, what influence does that have on body, mind, and the world? If the manas also personally realizes it, what influence would that have on body, mind, and the world?

If the mind consciousness infers that someone may be cursing me, versus actually hearing with my own ears someone cursing me, what different reactions would the manas have? What different responses in body, mind, and the world? If the mind consciousness deduces that a certain matter is thus, versus personally experiencing that the matter is thus, what difference would there be in the manas' feelings and reactions? What difference in body, mind, and the world?

If the mind consciousness deduces from written words that the five aggregates and eighteen realms are empty and not self, versus personally proving that the five aggregates and eighteen realms are empty and not self, what different reactions would the manas have, and what different wisdom? How great a difference in body, mind, and the world?

If the mind consciousness deduces, judges, or analyzes from written words that the tathāgatagarbha functions in such a way and operates roughly like this, versus personally engaging in arduous Chan investigation within meditative concentration (samādhi) and finally truly and genuinely seeing where the tathāgatagarbha is located and how it specifically operates—what difference is there in the influence of these two on the manas? What difference in the manas' wisdom? How great a difference in their influence on body, mind, and the world?

Does what is deduced, inferred, speculated, or analyzed count as personal realization? Is there a process of actual cultivation in it? What is called actual cultivation? And what is called personal realization?

Imagining a murder scene, versus witnessing a murder scene with one's own eyes—what difference is there in the impression it makes on the mind? Imagining a kind and amiable countenance, versus seeing with one's own eyes a kind and amiable countenance—what difference is there in the mind's feelings and impressions? What difference in the effect on a person? Inferring that one's parents have both died, versus personally seeing one's parents both dead—what difference in body, mind, and the world? How great a difference in the effect on oneself?

Imagining the Buddha expounding the Dharma at the Vulture Peak assembly, versus personally sitting in the Vulture Peak assembly listening to the Buddha expound the Dharma—how great is the difference in effect? How great the difference in influence on body and mind? Does what is imagined, inferred, judged, deduced, and analyzed possess meditative realization (samādhi)? Does it belong to the samādhi that opens wisdom? Is imagining the scene of the Vulture Peak assembly a samādhi state? What difference is there from the samādhi of Master Zhiyi, who attended the Vulture Peak Dharma assembly within concentration?

In the samādhi of recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti), imagining the Buddhas of the ten directions standing before one, versus the samādhi of personally witnessing the Buddhas of the ten directions standing before one—how great is the difference? In the contemplation of the white bones, an imagined white-bone contemplation versus the samādhi in which the white-bone contemplation truly manifests—what is the difference?

The entire Buddhist world is a chaotic mess; it cannot be allowed to become any more chaotic. So the Buddhist world must be rectified and contracted; it must not expand and extend any further, otherwise Buddhism will surely be destroyed. Every person and every group claims to be engaged in actual cultivation and personal realization, but where is the "actual"? Who is cultivating in a down-to-earth manner? All are using the mind consciousness to play at cleverness, playing word games, playing with the self—where is there anyone truly without self?

How many people have deduced that the world of the five aggregates is like a dream, like an illusion, and all claim to have realized it as such? Is it really so? Genuinely realizing the illusion-like contemplation belongs to the tenth abode stage; genuinely realizing the dream-like contemplation belongs to the tenth dedication stage, and one is about to enter the first bhūmi. Does the Sahā world really have so many great-faculty bodhisattvas about to attain the bhūmis, so many long-cultivating returning bodhisattvas? If so, where is their meditative concentration? Do they still have afflictions? Do they have the first dhyāna concentration? Have they eliminated afflictions? If you ask this, there will still be people claiming to have the first dhyāna concentration, to have eliminated afflictions, and to abide in the state of nirvāṇa with remainder (sopadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa). No one can do anything about such beings, yet some think they can.

How many people have deduced the eighth consciousness from written words? How many have guessed at the eighth consciousness? How many have analyzed out the eighth consciousness? How many have heard about the eighth consciousness through inquiry? How many have been told of the general functions of the eighth consciousness? What use is this? Has wisdom been developed? Is there genuine merit and benefit? Is there the genuine realization of the pure dharma eye? Has the self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) truly been eliminated? How many people have been "enlightened" for many years yet have not eliminated self-view, and still have a rather long road to travel before eliminating it—this life may not even afford them the qualification and conditions to eliminate self-view. If the elimination of self-view at the sixth abode stage has not been realized, can one realize the awakening to the true mind at the seventh abode stage?

The process of investigating Chan can gradually enable the mind consciousness and the manas to clearly recognize the suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and not-self nature of the five aggregates, and to gradually recognize the illusory, unreal nature of the body of the five aggregates, and can gradually subdue the view of body and the view of self. Without this process, if one merely deduces from written words that the eighth consciousness may operate in such a way within the body of the five aggregates, or deduces it, or analyzes it, or hears of it through inquiry, or is told of it, one cannot possibly subdue the view of body and the view of self, let alone eliminate them. Then what significance does knowing this conclusion about the eighth consciousness have for one's own body, mind, and world? What merit and benefit? Without merit and benefit, what use is knowing about the eighth consciousness? On banners and billboards along the streets, proclaiming to all Buddhist learners that everyone has a true mind, the eighth consciousness, functioning in such a way—can those who hear it thereby eliminate the view of body and the view of self, and sever the three fetters? Can they extinguish the karma of the three evil destinies? If so, with such a good thing available, why did the Buddha not adopt it?