How to Truly Rely on Wisdom Rather Than Consciousness?

When the Buddha was about to enter parinirvāṇa, He instructed His disciples that in studying and practicing the Buddha-dharma, they must strictly follow the four reliances and four non-reliances: rely on the Dharma, not on persons; rely on wisdom, not on consciousness; rely on the meaning, not on the words; rely on the definitive meaning, not on the non-definitive meaning. Although there are only these four principles, they are extremely difficult to carry out, and the vast majority of people cannot do so.

Among them, relying on wisdom rather than on consciousness is something that neither ordinary people nor ordinary bodhisattvas can accomplish. First of all, this wisdom is not something ordinary people can possess in full. This wisdom is transformed from the consciousness of ordinary beings and from the consciousness of bodhisattvas at the stage of virtuous ones before the bhūmis who have seen the Path; it is the wisdom that arises after consciousness is transformed into wisdom — the wisdom of the wonderful observation (pratyavekṣaṇā-jñāna) of the mind consciousness and the wisdom of equality (samatā-jñāna) of the manas. It is the wisdom of the seed-wisdom of Consciousness-only, the profound great wisdom possessed by bodhisattvas who have attained the bhūmis. The Buddha warned sentient beings that their minds are not to be believed; only after attaining the fruit of an arhat may one trust one's own mind.

At the time of His parinirvāṇa, He further instructed that one must rely on the seed-wisdom of Consciousness-only of bodhisattvas who have attained the bhūmis, relying on the wisdom of wonderful observation and the wisdom of equality. Viewed this way, the World-Honored One's two instructions echo and correspond to each other, consistent from beginning to end, encompassing the entire study and practice of both the Mahāyāna and the Hīnayāna.

Why did the World-Honored One emphasize this so strongly and demand this so strictly of His disciples? Because a person who has attained the fruit of an arhat has severed all afflictions, has completely severed the ignorance of one thought, and has the wisdom of liberation manifesting before him; his wisdom is free of obstruction. This is equivalent to the views and concepts of the Hīnayāna path of liberation, and only then are there no errors or omissions, so that one may rely on such liberating insight. As for bodhisattvas who have attained the bhūmis after transforming consciousness into wisdom, they have also severed the obstruction of afflictions, with only very slight grasping at self not yet completely severed. They possess the profound wisdom of wonderful observation and the wisdom of equality; their Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna wisdom is extremely deep and sharp, and their insight is thorough and penetrating, so that their views on all Buddha-dharmas may be relied upon. As for everyone else, the Buddha said: take utmost heed not to trust your own mind — because they have the obstruction of afflictions, their wisdom is deficient, and their errors and omissions are relatively serious.