The Practice of Buddha Dharma Is Sequential

Question: Everything learned in the Dharma must possess practical cultivation value. If one can only study theoretical knowledge without being able to cultivate it, such teachings cannot be passed down. The Dharma-characteristics Consciousness-only school has the "Fivefold Contemplation of Consciousness-only" as its practice method, yet very few people cultivate it. Why is that?

Answer: Studying and cultivating any Dharma door aims to genuinely realize the increase of wisdom and attain liberation. This requires actual practice. Some theories remain merely theoretical; they cannot guide actual cultivation and thus cannot lead to genuine realization. They end up as mere ornaments, decorations for show. The study and practice of the Dharma-characteristics Consciousness-only school are akin to postgraduate and doctoral courses in worldly studies—extremely profound. This is a Dharma door for Bodhisattvas before the First Ground to begin cultivating. Ordinary Buddhist practitioners lack a foundation in the Dharma; they have little hope of even attaining the Hinayana practice of severing the view of self. How could they possibly understand and cultivate this?

Therefore, during the Tang Dynasty, the Consciousness-only school was only transmitted for two generations before it could no longer be passed on. One reason was that Buddhist practitioners lacked the foundational cultivation and realization of the Dharma. How could they possibly engage in the profound practice of Dharma-characteristics Consciousness-only? With theory and practice so disconnected, how could the Consciousness-only tradition be sustained? Without the realization level of Bodhisattvas on the Grounds, it is also impossible to transmit the Consciousness-only school. Thus, the Dharma is indeed divided into stages and levels of practice. Worldly studies, as shallow as they are, are divided into elementary, middle, and university levels. How much more so must the profound Dharma be stratified? The path to Buddhahood spans Three Asaṃkhyeya Kalpas. Only by genuinely realizing the foundational Dharma can one proceed to practice the subsequent teachings. It is like stepping onto the next step: one foot must be firmly placed on the step ahead before the other foot can lift to reach the next step. One cannot skip steps; otherwise, one will stumble and fail to ascend.