The Supreme Wonderful Dharma Can Only Be Understood Through the Mind, Not Conveyed Through Words

Intuitive realization is the personal verification by the manas, whereas verbal transmission is an explanation using the language of the mind consciousness. The unsurpassed wondrous dharma is the highest and most wondrous tathāgatagarbha dharma, which each person must personally realize and verify for themselves; the guidance and hints given by others through language can never substitute for one's own personal realization. Personal realization requires many causal conditions: precepts, meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom, as well as merit, must all be complete, and a deep questioning doubt must have already arisen, enabling one to investigate with abiding mindfulness of this very object. Only when the practice reaches the manas can one then personally realize the wondrous dharma of the tathāgatagarbha. Verbal transmission can only first land in the mind consciousness; if the practice on the manas has not been brought to fullness, it cannot touch the manas. Therefore verbal transmission cannot substitute for the manas's deliberation (manasikāra/manana) and investigation, and ultimately one cannot achieve personal realization.

When the practice of meditative concentration and investigation is not yet deep enough, one should devote oneself single-mindedly to the practice and not listen to others' views, nor consult the Buddhist sūtras or others' theoretical knowledge, because these will obstruct personal realization. Cultivation is entirely one's own affair: just as with eating, whoever eats is the one who becomes full; whoever investigates the Buddha-dharma is the one who personally realizes it. Without investigation, there is no realization; a dharma merely heard is like something stolen—it does not belong to oneself. The state of meditative absorption (samādhi) can only be initiated by oneself, and wisdom arises from within one's own mind. Studying the Tripiṭaka and the twelve divisions of the canon can never compare with one's own enlightenment. A practitioner should be like a great man, courageous in practice, doing everything personally, and rejecting all opportunistic shortcuts.

That the unsurpassed wondrous dharma cannot be transmitted in words carries yet another meaning: the subtle and profound dharma of the tathāgatagarbha cannot be expressed in language. No matter how it is spoken, whatever is spoken is not He; there is nothing spoken and nothing shown, and whatever is pointed out is also not He. No matter what, He simply does not come forward, does not manifest, does not speak, does not act—low-key and selfless, and there is not even any "key" to be low about. What is to be done with such a dharma? Only through personal realization, direct verification, and direct awakening can one see His true face. What is heard or read is not it; no one can transmit this dharma through transmission. So do you still want to listen to others' instructions?