The Śūraṅgama Sūtra, Volume Five: The Dharma Gate of Perfect Penetration of the Twenty-five Saints—Mahāmaudgalyāyana

Original text:大目犍连即从座起。顶礼佛足。而白佛言。我初于路乞食。逢遇优楼频螺。伽耶那提。三迦叶波。宣说如来因缘深义。我顿发心。得大通达。如来惠我袈裟着身。须发自落。心光发宣。如澄浊流。久成清莹。斯为第一。

Explanation: Mahāmaudgalyāyana rose from his seat, bowed at the Buddha's feet, and said to the Buddha: When I first went out begging for food on the road, I met Uruvilvā, Gayā, and Nadī—the three Kāśyapa brothers—discussing the profound meaning of the law of dependent arising taught by the World-Honored One as they walked. As soon as I heard it, I awakened to the Way and attained thorough comprehension of the law of dependent arising. It was the Tathāgata's grace that I became a great arhat of the fourth fruit; immediately my kasaya robe draped over my body, my hair and beard fell away by themselves, and the great light of wisdom within my mind manifested, just like washing clean a turbid stream—only after long and sustained effort did the muddy water become pure and lustrous. This is the foremost perfect penetration method I accomplished.

Mahāmaudgalyāyana's self-introduction of his cultivation method, or one might call it his realization, is the simplest of all. Why is it so simple? Because he had already cultivated it in previous lives—his manas had already realized it countless times. In this life, at the very moment his new mind consciousness heard the essential points of the relevant Dharma, it realized them after but a brief moment of gathering in thought, without the trouble of having to train the manas again. His manas was innately attuned to that of a great arhat of the fourth fruit, with extremely high attainment, free of afflictions, and with deep and sharp wisdom; only the mind consciousness was lacking. When a person of the first fruit returns to the human world, because the manas has already realized it in previous lives while the new mind consciousness has not, upon realizing it again, this is faster than for an ordinary person, but still very slow compared with the arhats. This is because the manas's wisdom of realizing no-self is still rather shallow and its ignorance still rather heavy, so its permeating influence on the mind consciousness is slight, and the mind consciousness's ignorance is heavy. Therefore, upon encountering the Buddha's teachings again, a period of cultivation is still needed before realizing the fruit once more—but this is faster than for someone who has never realized it. Facts prove that in the process of cultivation and realization, not only is the learning of the mind consciousness important, but the permeating cultivation of the manas is even more important. In later lives, the manas can permeate and carry along the mind consciousness; thereafter, when the mind consciousness learns new and profound Dharmas, it in turn permeates and carries along the manas. As the two permeate and carry along each other, progress on the path of the Way is swift.