The Reason Why Buddhist Dharma Practice Cannot Be Achieved Through Shortcuts

The path of the bodhisattva's practice is long; why be concerned with momentary speed or slowness before your eyes? The goal is to be achieved across three incalculable eons. As long as one completes the Buddha-way most swiftly within those three incalculable eons, that one is the winner. It is like a ten-thousand-meter long-distance race: what wise person cares about being ahead or behind within the first hundred meters? Setting up a long-term plan and arrangement according to one's physical capacity, and ensuring that one arrives at the finish line first—this is what is fundamental; everything else is unimportant.

When a person lacks long-term consideration, worries are sure to be near at hand. The more distant the goal, the vaster the wisdom, the broader the breadth of mind, the grander the magnanimity, the loftier the aspiration, the stronger the legs, and the fuller the confidence. Do not be concerned with momentary speed or slowness, with winning or losing.

Now, in the Dharma-ending age, there are not so many people of bodhisattva lineage, not so many suitable vessels for the Path, so absolutely no crash courses for swift attainment of realization and awakening to the true mind may be conducted. These past two years I have observed certain phenomena and have become somewhat alerted: crash courses do people great harm; what they produce are all shoddy, counterfeit products, endangering the normal and orderly development of Buddhism.

Many people cannot find the true point of entry for practice and realization—this is a normal phenomenon, showing that their karmic conditions for realization are not yet ripe. As they bump about here and there, they gradually mature themselves, gradually grow their roots of goodness and merit, as well as meditative concentration and wisdom, perfecting the conditions of a bodhisattva, cultivating the bodhisattva's disposition and virtue. At the very least, one must have the moral cultivation of being a proper human being, the character of a person; otherwise, how could one serve as a bodhisattva to lead sentient beings? If one leads sentient beings all into the mire without even being aware of it—"he who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and he who stays near ink gets stained black"—sentient beings, without realizing it, are all tainted with bad habits, yet believe it to be bodhisattva conduct. The consequences of this are also very frightening. I have observed some seekers of awakening whose character is extremely vile, who simply do not know how to be a proper person and do not even wish to be good people. If all such people came to know the point of entry for practice and realization, came to know the final result, and all became so-called bodhisattvas in name only, what would Buddhism develop into in the future? It is frightening even to think about.

The more one wishes to swiftly awaken to the true mind, attain enlightenment, and realize the fruits, the less one should awaken, for one who has such an urgent mind has impure aims; the bodhisattva disposition is still insufficient, and the mind that seeks nothing has not yet been cultivated. Once such a person awakens, they will seek even more, and the mind craving fame and gain will become uncontrollable. Therefore, in matters of practice, things should be allowed to run their natural course, happening spontaneously. For one whose karmic conditions are ripe, it cannot be held back even if you try; such a person will certainly awaken naturally, and is naturally a bodhisattva.

With swift realization of the fruits and awakening to the true mind, the accumulation of merit is insufficient, karmic obstructions have not yet been eliminated, and afflictions have not yet been subdued. Once one approaches realization and awakening, karmic obstructions will emerge to obstruct, and afflictions will arise to hinder; with obstacles upon obstacles, it becomes extremely easy to regress in bodhi and lose the mind set on the Path, leaving no strength for subsequent practice. Therefore, when karmic conditions are not ripe, one absolutely must not reach out to guide, absolutely must not pluck unripe green fruit, lest one harm others, harm oneself, and harm Buddhism. If Buddhism were to run crash courses, the only ones that could be run would be crash courses in disposition, crash courses in the mind set on the Path, crash courses in human character, and crash courses in meditative concentration—absolutely not crash courses in realizing the fruits or in awakening to the true mind. If disposition cannot be achieved swiftly, if human character cannot be achieved swiftly, if the mind set on the Path cannot be achieved swiftly, and if meditative concentration cannot be achieved swiftly, how could realization of the fruits and awakening to the true mind be achieved swiftly?

So many people have come to me pouring out their troubles, saying that they have no point of entry in their practice, that they do not know how to investigate Chan or awaken to the true mind, do not know how to engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) to realize the fruits. Thinking about it now, that is exactly right—not knowing is normal, and having no point of entry is normal. After a period of arduous tempering, when the karmic conditions ripen, one will come to know and understand everything.