Enlightenment Can Be Attained Only When Mind Consciousness and Manas Are in the Same State.

A telescope can see towering mountains and vast seas tens of kilometers away in an instant, but to personally see and touch those mountains and seas, one must personally walk tens of kilometers, arriving at the foot of the mountain or the shore of the sea, only then can one see the mountains and seas with one's own eyes and touch them, only then does one know their appearance and countenance, and only then can one tell others: "I saw that mountain and that sea with my own eyes—how magnificent! My mind suddenly opened up, and I was simply overjoyed." The state of meditative absorption (samādhi) is similar to this: the manas must personally arrive; only by leaving the telescope behind and seeing with one's own eyes is there the samādhi of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā. If the manas does not arrive, that is merely what is seen through a telescope—not true seeing, not unconditional seeing, not naked, bare seeing. 

The mind consciousness is like the telescope: no matter how far it gazes at a realm, what it sees is not real; the realm appears blurry and indistinct. What the manas sees is clear and distinct, thorough and complete, reaching to the very bottom and source of dharmas. If the manas does not keep up and cannot see what the mind consciousness sees, then it is not seeing with one's own eyes, not personally arriving at the present realm, not personal realization. Because what the mind consciousness sees is far from the realm, what it sees is not real, as if separated by a layer of lens, with some obstruction; the scenery is neither detailed nor clear, being only an outline. The details must await the manas to personally see them before they can be discerned, and one can know why things are so. 

At the stage of an ordinary person, the mind consciousness has read some Buddhist sutras and knows of the Buddha's realm, but if the manas does not know it, it is not personal realization of the Buddha's realm. Such knowing is extremely coarse, no different from not knowing at all. To personally realize the Buddha's realm, to know it finely, deeply, and truly, one must cultivate for another three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas—that is, three immeasurable kalpas. There is no shortcut in between; all the dharmas that should be cultivated must be cultivated, all the dharmas that should be realized must be realized. Precepts, meditation, and wisdom, the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment, the bodhisattva's six perfections and various practices—not one can be lacking. The entire intermediate process must be personally experienced; cutting corners and taking shortcuts is absolutely not allowed. 

At the stage of an ordinary person, the mind consciousness has learned some dharmas and knows of the realm of effortless conduct (anābhoga-caryā) that an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva should possess—the ability to act in accord with dharmas spontaneously, without mental effort, able to directly perceive how the tathāgatagarbha discerns and operates upon the faculties, the body, and the material world. But as for this kind of realm, the mind consciousness's knowing is just knowing—extremely coarse—and there remains a distance of two immeasurable kalpas of cultivation and realization before actual attainment. During this period, no matter what, you cannot directly perceive how the tathāgatagarbha actually discerns and operates the faculties, the body, and the material world. To personally realize such a realm, you must cultivate for another two great asaṃkhyeya kalpas; the entire intermediate process must be walked through, with no cutting corners or slacking off. 

At the stage of an ordinary person, the mind consciousness has learned the term "samādhi of suchness" (tathatā-samādhi) and finds it excellent and sublime, but as for what exactly is called the samādhi of suchness and what its realm is like, the mind knows nothing at all; what it knows and sees is merely a conjecture. To personally see the realm of the samādhi of suchness, one still needs to cultivate for another immeasurable kalpa—that is, one great asaṃkhyeya kalpa. Because the samādhi of suchness is the realm of suchness, realized upon all dharmas—seeing that all dharmas, or a portion of dharmas, are all of the nature of suchness, all of the nature of the tathāgatagarbha, all part of the one true dharmadhātu. How exactly all dharmas are of the nature of suchness, how they are all one true dharmadhātu—this is the realm of the wisdom of the varieties of paths and the wisdom of seed-consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna wisdom), which only bodhisattvas of the first bhūmi and above who have entered the Buddha's family have the capacity to directly perceive. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas of the first bhūmi and above partially realize the Dharma body, achieve partial realization of buddhahood, and partially realize the one true dharmadhātu; only then do they know the partial suchness-nature of all dharmas. Even if an ordinary person truly realizes the tathāgatagarbha, they are still too far from the wisdom realm of the samādhi of suchness; they can only think about it and absolutely cannot see it. When they do see it, they will have the wisdom of the varieties of paths and become a great bodhisattva who has attained the bhūmis. 

At the stage of an ordinary person, the mind consciousness has studied the Diamond Sutra and knows that all dharmas are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows. Yet no matter how much the mind consciousness feels that all dharmas are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows, one must still undergo nearly an asaṃkhyeya kalpa of cultivation, reaching the tenth dedication bhūmi, before one can personally realize the realm of "like a dream." In between, one must gradually realize the tathāgatagarbha, develop various samādhis, cultivate the first dhyāna, eradicate the manifest active afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, become a third-fruit anāgāmin, pass through the three checkpoints of the Chan school, and directly realize nirvāṇa with remainder (sopadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa); at death, one has the ability to enter nirvāṇa without remainder (anupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa) but does not enter it, retaining one grade of latent afflictions of the desire realm to moisten and sustain the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) life after life, continuing to liberate oneself and liberate others. Without meeting these conditions and passing through these realms, the mind consciousness's feeling that all is "like a dream, illusion, bubble, or shadow" is merely counting food—how could that fill the belly?

What the mind consciousness's telescope gazes upon may differ vastly from what the manas sees with its own eyes. Gazing is easy and quick, but personal realization requires the manas to measure step by step with its own feet, personally walking to the edge of that realm before it can see that realm—extremely arduous, requiring enormous cost and effort. The realms seen by the two are extremely inconsistent, so gazing is one thing, but realization is impossible for quite a long time; one can only indulge in talk, just saying the words. Do not think that realizing any dharma is easy—that is an illusion; in reality it is not so at all. It is extremely difficult. The karmic obstructions of immeasurable kalpas, with karmic power as massive as a mountain—how could they be so easily removed and overcome? Although the Buddha's power of blessing is inconceivable, one's own karmic power is equally inconceivable. Only when karmic obstructions are eliminated and good roots, merit, and all manner of conditions are complete will the manas close the distance with the mind consciousness and merge into unity with what the mind consciousness sees; only then can there be sudden enlightenment. Apart from this, everything is the "mis" of misunderstanding.