Can Investigating Words and Texts Lead to Seeing One's True Mind and Nature?

Many people who consider themselves wise are helpless when faced with Chan kōans. There are also some who think they possess the Way and lecture on Chan kōans, yet everything they say falls into worldly dharmas—ordinary people quite enjoy reading such things, not knowing what flavor there really is in them. Some people study the Buddhadharma by burrowing into the shell of words, dismembering the text, analyzing words and vocabulary, studying back and forth until they seem to understand a bit of the surface meaning, and then they think they have the Way; they then paste their ideas everywhere, with arrogance greatly arising. In fact, studying Buddhism and cultivating practice is not about burrowing into the shell of words—the real effort lies beyond the text. One should apply diligent effort in practicing the bodhisattva's six pāramitās, subduing afflictions, improving one's mental cultivation, developing merit, and strengthening meditative concentration (samādhi). By practicing diligently in these areas, one can continually perfect the qualifications to be a bodhisattva; it is not about burying oneself all day in piles of text, researching those words. If studying Buddhism were merely a matter of literary skill, then all graduate students and doctoral candidates could become bodhisattvas of the Mahāyāna who have awakened to the true mind and seen its nature—but in fact this is not so. There are also those who emphasize that taking the Three Refuges is unnecessary, that receiving the five precepts is unnecessary, and that one can awaken to the true mind and see its nature simply by earnestly investigating the words. If that were the case, then since non-Buddhists are all clever and quick-witted people, they would not need to believe in the Buddha—as long as they studied the Buddhadharma, they could gain intellectual understanding of it. Yet they could never become bodhisattvas of Mahāyāna true meaning; even if they knew some of the answers, they would not be Mahāyāna bodhisattvas, because they have not given rise to wisdom and lack the bodhisattva's disposition. Clever and quick-witted people are everywhere; after delving into the Buddhadharma for a while, they can understand some surface content. However, because they do not possess the bodhisattva's disposition, they can never become true bodhisattvas, will not receive the blessing and protection of the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and Dharma-protecting benevolent deities, and therefore cannot attain true realization and enlightenment.