Inference Can Never Replace Pratyakṣa

Reasoning can never replace direct perception. If it could replace experiential direct perception, then the Buddha could have explained all his inner realizations to us bit by bit. After we spent decades comprehending, memorizing, and elaborating on them, finally mastering them thoroughly, wouldn’t that make us Buddhas? If spending a few decades could make our wisdom completely equal to that of the Buddha, what a convenient method of practice that would be! Why didn’t the Buddha teach us to practice this way? Why bother with arduous practices like precepts, meditation, and wisdom? Achieving Buddhahood in one lifetime through such practice wouldn’t be difficult at all. Then why did all the Buddhas need to cultivate for three great asamkhyeya kalpas? Memorizing the Buddha’s words is infinitely easier than practicing the six paramitas of precepts, meditation, and wisdom. If the Buddha had revealed all the secrets of Buddhist practice and realization to us, could we all have realized the wisdom of all modes and swiftly attained Buddhahood?

The truth is that what is transmitted orally rather than arising from one’s own inner realization is always counterfeit and cannot withstand trials. Overusing conscious reasoning renders the manas root ineffective. The Chan patriarchs most vehemently opposed this, calling it intellectual speculation and emotional-intellectual understanding, not genuine attainment. Excessive use of the conscious mind prevents the manas root from functioning effectively, making genuine realization impossible. When one wanes, the other waxes. Whose knowing and realization is best to rely on?

The dominance of the manas root is the foundation of realization. If realization did not require the manas root, saints burdened with deep afflictions could be found everywhere. Realization through the manas root is attainable only by those with profound roots of goodness and great merit, cultivated over long practice—such individuals are exceedingly rare. Every man must bear his own burden. What the conscious mind knows and realizes cannot substitute for the manas root. The manas root must itself know and realize to resolve doubts and solve the problem of birth and death. For the manas root to realize, meditation is indispensable, because realization is samadhi. All samadhi depends on meditation. Without meditation, there is no samadhi; without samadhi, there is no realization. This is the principle. Knowing any number of esoteric meanings is useless if it cannot resolve doubts.

Within myself, I can clearly perceive what wisdom is like when there is meditative stability, what state the body and mind are in, and what they are like without it—the difference is stark. Therefore, without meditation, the manas root cannot function effectively, there is no actual realization, and afflictions cannot be subdued.

The prerequisite for realization is meditation, coupled with correct contemplation, to generate wisdom. For wisdom to arise, meditation is a necessary condition, though not the only one. But without meditation, there can be no true wisdom—only dry wisdom, which solves no practical problems. If we take the meditation of non-Buddhist paths and combine it with our contemplative wisdom, the union of the two can lead to profound realization of the Dharma. Separated, there is no realization. This also includes the six paramitas, the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment—all must be practiced without omission. Only when these conditions are fulfilled can realization occur.