Practice Should Follow Stages

Under normal circumstances, practice should proceed in stages, with one stage having one content of practice; when the levels of practice differ, the contents of practice also differ. Ordinary beings have the practice methods of ordinary beings, sages have the practice methods of sages, and noble ones have the practice methods of noble ones. An ordinary being absolutely must not use the practice methods of a noble one—the gap is too great, and one simply cannot apply any effort with them.

Ordinary beings can only engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) on the arising, ceasing, change, and impermanence of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha), contemplate the Four Noble Truths of suffering, its origin, cessation, and the path, or investigate Chan in order to see the mind. Ordinary beings cannot contemplate the states realized by an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva, such as abiding nowhere and attaching to nothing, such as emptying all dharmas, such as not taking up marks and discriminations, such as acting spontaneously and naturally, and so on.

Ordinary beings and sages who have awakened are still at the stage of practicing wholesome dharmas with a deliberate mind and attachment to marks. Although the sages have already initially broken through some marks, their level is still very shallow. At this stage, to not attach to marks and not cognize all dharmas in terms of marks—not only is it impossible to do, it will also lead to arrogance and denying cause and effect. For example, when an ordinary being sees meat, one should think: this is the flesh of sentient beings; out of compassion, one should not eat the flesh of sentient beings—this is the correct way of practice. At this stage one should not view meat as empty, as without marks, as true suchness (tathatā), and then think that eating it is the same as not eating it, and thus eat it in big mouthfuls, while at the same time feeling that one has entered the realm of true suchness—when in fact one has entered the realm of greed and desire. This is a wrong method of practice.

For example, when an ordinary being sees the marks of male and female, one should not say, "I will empty out the marks of male and female and view them all as the one mark of true suchness," and then, feeling in one's mind that one no longer has the marks of male and female, associate with others without any scruples—with the result that, due to severely insufficient power of meditative concentration, both parties go off the tracks. This method of practice can also be called misapprehended emptiness (jaḍa-śūnyatā), and the offense is very grave. If a person of the opposite sex makes special demands on you, and yet you insist on not grasping at marks, not attaching to marks, viewing the other person as empty, as a manifestation of true suchness, and thus "go along with conditions"—as a result, you have violated the ten major precepts of the bodhisattva precepts, and then a place in hell is certainly reserved for you. As for so-called "going along with conditions," you must possess the capability to go along with conditions: your mind must have realized emptiness, and you must genuinely be able to keep the mind empty without arising thoughts and without attaching to marks. Without the meditative concentration of the first dhyāna and the wisdom of a bodhisattva at the first bhūmi or above, anyone can merely think about it and talk about it—it is fundamentally impossible to do. One must still honestly uphold the precepts and practice, and must not overstep the boundaries and stages of practice.

If an ordinary being wishes to repent of the unwholesome karma created in the past, one should engage in marked repentance (taking up marks) regarding one's evil mind and evil actions, in hopes of changing one's evil mental conduct. But instead one practices the Mahāyāna markless repentance, forcibly convincing oneself that all afflictions are bodhi, are all the mark of true suchness, while being unable to realize the markless state. After convincing oneself this way, one feels at ease. But ease of mind is one thing—the unwholesome karma still exists and has not been eliminated, and the retribution will not spare anyone. To do this is misapprehended emptiness (jaḍa-śūnyatā), and the retribution will not deviate in the slightest.

Our study of Buddhism and practice has stages and a proper order; one must not act recklessly. What a bodhisattva can do, an ordinary being may not necessarily be able to do. Guiding those of the opposite sex according to conditions is beyond the capability of ordinary beings—that is the conduct of bodhisattvas on the bhūmis with profound meditative concentration. If an ordinary being does it, one will surely fall into the three evil destinies.

The Buddha-dharma today is utterly chaotic. Most people's conscious minds (manovijñāna) are quite clever and can understand something of the practice realms of bodhisattvas on the bhūmis and of the Buddha, so they hang the dharmas that bodhisattvas on the bhūmis should practice on their lips, thinking they too can accomplish them. Is this possible? You are not Sudhana (Shancai Tongzi); you lack Sudhana's good roots and merit, and you are unwilling to diligently cultivate concentration and contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā).

In our practice, we should change the habit of "Chan of the mouth" (mere verbalization). The Buddha-dharma requires actual practice before there can be actual realization. Actual practice and actual realization are not slogans; there must be concrete, feasible methods of actual practice. If there are none, then it is not actual practice, and realization is impossible. Even if we can speak the words the Buddha spoke, it is of no use—it is merely shouting slogans. Only by taking each step underfoot can there be any hope.