眾生無邊誓願度
煩惱無盡誓願斷
法門無量誓願學
佛道無上誓願成

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Dharma Teachings

07 May 2023    Sunday     2nd Teach Total 3932

Illustrating with Examples What Empirical Realization Is

<h2 style="text-indent: 2em;">Question: On my birthday, friends came to congratulate me. A gave 100 yuan, B gave 100 yuan, and C gave 50 yuan. I had forgotten how much money I originally had in my pocket, so I took it out and counted: after removing the 250 that came from outside, I found that I originally did not have a single cent of my own. Does this count as personally realizing that I originally had no money in my pocket?</h2>

Answer: This certainly counts as personally realizing that you originally had no money in your pocket, because you saw it with your own eyes and actually observed it directly in the present—it is an absolutely true, living fact that no one can dispute, cannot be denied, and must be accepted, rather than something obtained through inference, imagination, conjecture, or estimation. For example, when doing business, every night when you return home and count your money, after counting you have personally realized the amount of money you earned. That amount is not estimated or imagined, not deduced or conjured up—it is counted out for real, seen with your own eyes. This is called personal realization and direct verification.

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings
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Methods for Eliminating the Identity View (satkāya-dṛṣṭi)

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