Buddhist Study and Practice: A Protracted Journey

The master was admiring flowers in the room and then said to himself: "The red flowers are beautiful." Hearing this, the parrot beside him repeated: "The red flowers are beautiful." Was the parrot's statement truthful speech? Was it based on direct perception? Did it realize the redness and beauty of the flowers? None of these. The parrot was merely mimicking speech, completely unaware of the meaning behind the words, and may not even have understood what it was saying. Therefore, merely being able to utter something does not necessarily indicate genuine cultivation or realization.

The Buddhist scriptures state that sentient beings at the Ten Faiths stage have studied Buddhism for several great kalpas and have encountered numerous Buddhas. Even after studying and practicing Buddhism for an innumerable kalpa, one only reaches the level of a First Ground Bodhisattva. A Residing Bodhisattva who has awakened to the mind and realized enlightenment still has two-thirds of the cultivation period remaining before reaching the First Ground Bodhisattva stage, having completed only one-ninth of the path to Buddhahood. This already represents an immensely long period of cultivation spanning vast kalpas, which is profoundly difficult. This shows that studying and practicing Buddhism is no easy matter. Each advancement in the path requires incalculable time and effort. Therefore, no one should take it lightly or assume that mere intellectual understanding can lead to attaining any fruition level—nothing is that simple. Without having traversed that path, one cannot see the road ahead. Relying on imagination alone makes it seem simple and easy to attain Buddhahood. Only those who have already become Buddhas truly know what this path entails, and only their accounts of the experiences they have undergone can be considered reliable.