What Does It Mean That an Icchantika Has Cut Off the Roots of Goodness?

That an icchantika has severed the roots of goodness does not refer to ordinary disbelief in the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha; rather, it means that while disbelieving, one also hurls abusive words, committing extremely grave slander with very bad consequences. Those who disbelieve in the tathāgatagarbha make up the majority, but icchantika sinners are not numerous—they are only a tiny minority; otherwise, the Avīci hell could not contain them all.

When Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva expounded the Mahāyāna Dharma to five hundred bhikṣus, the bhikṣus, while disbelieving, rose and left, harboring anger in their minds—especially anger at Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva's exposition of the Dharma. This offense is many times greater than being angry at ordinary people, so they went down to hell to suffer. Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva had foreseen all of this long before. Śāriputra asked Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva: since he knew this outcome, why did he still expound the Mahāyāna Dharma to them? Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva said that although they had fallen into hell, their roots of goodness had already matured; once in hell, they would know to repent, and with a single thought of remorse, their hellish offenses would be eliminated, and they would ascend to the heavens. Then they would return to the human world to study and cultivate the Mahāyāna Dharma, and ultimately attain the Way. If he had not expounded the Mahāyāna Dharma to them, although they would not have fallen into hell, they also would not have planted roots of goodness and merit, and would have had no opportunity to study the Mahāyāna and attain the Way.

Therefore, some things may appear unwholesome and disadvantageous in the short term, but in the long run, they bring great benefit. Great bodhisattvas have broad insight and far-reaching vision; they can see long-term benefits, and everything they do can benefit sentient beings. Ordinary people, however, can only see immediate benefits and cannot see far ahead, hence their shortsightedness.

Since Buddhists are learning from the Buddha, they should read more Buddhist sutras and learn more about the Buddha's cultivation experiences over three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas, as well as the cultivation journeys of the great bodhisattvas. Learning more about the great wise conduct of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas will provide immense guidance for one's own practice, so that one will not remain in ignorance. What the sutras teach is both comprehensive and ultimate, rich and detailed in content; reading them more will surely benefit one greatly. It also lays a foundation for future generations and grants the wisdom eye to discern Buddhas and bodhisattvas, enabling one to recognize whether each person who transmits the Dharma is a good teacher (kalyāṇamitra) or a false teacher, so as not to be deceived by others, not to stray onto wrong paths, and to attain buddhahood swiftly.