Cultivation Must Follow the Proper Sequence

Under normal circumstances, practice should proceed step by step, with each stage having its own content of practice; when the levels of practice differ, the content of practice also differs. Ordinary beings have the practice methods of ordinary beings, sages have the practice methods of sages, and noble ones have the practice methods of noble ones. An ordinary being absolutely must not use the practice methods of the noble ones—the gap is too great, and one simply cannot apply any strength to them.

Ordinary beings can only engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) on the arising, ceasing, and impermanent mutation of the five aggregates (pañcaskandha), contemplate the Four Noble Truths of suffering, its origin, cessation, and the path, or investigate Chan in order to see one's true mind. Ordinary beings cannot contemplate the states realized by an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva, such as abiding nowhere and attaching to nothing, such as emptying all dharmas, such as not grasping at signs and making discriminations, such as acting spontaneously and naturally, and so on.

Ordinary beings and post-awakening sages are still at the stage of practicing wholesome dharmas with a deliberate mind and attachment to signs; although the sage has preliminarily broken through some signs, the level is still too shallow. At this time, to not attach to signs, to not cognize all dharmas on the level of signs—not only is this impossible to achieve, it will also lead to arrogance and the denial of cause and effect. For example, when an ordinary being sees meat, one should think: this is the flesh of sentient beings; out of compassion, one should not eat the flesh of sentient beings—this is the correct way of practice. At this stage one should not view meat as empty, as signless, as suchness (tathatā), and then think that eating it is the same as not eating it, and so eat it in big mouthfuls while believing oneself to have entered the realm of suchness; in reality one has entered the realm of greed and craving. This is a wrong method of practice.

For instance, when an ordinary being sees the signs of male and female, one should not say, "I empty out the signs of male and female, viewing them all as the one sign of suchness," and then feel in one's mind that one no longer has the signs of male and female, and thus interact without any scruples—with the result that, due to severely insufficient meditative concentration, both parties go off the rails. This method of practice can also be called misapprehended emptiness, and the fault is very great. If a person of the opposite sex makes special demands on oneself, and yet one insists on non-grasping and non-attachment to signs, viewing the other as empty, as a manifestation of suchness, and thus "goes along with conditions"—the result is that one violates the ten major precepts of the bodhisattva precepts, and a place in hell is surely registered. As for so-called going along with conditions, you must possess the capability to go along with conditions: inwardly realizing emptiness, genuinely able to keep the mind empty, free of arising thoughts, and unattached to signs. Without the meditative concentration of the first dhyāna and the wisdom of a bodhisattva at the first bhūmi or above, anyone can merely think about it and talk about it—it is fundamentally impossible to do. One must still honestly hold the precepts and practice, and cannot transgress the boundaries and sequence of practice.

When an ordinary being wishes to repent of the sinful karma created in the past, one should practice sign-based repentance (taking signs as objects) regarding one's evil mind and evil deeds, in hopes of transforming one's evil mental conduct. Yet instead one practices the Mahāyāna signless repentance, forcibly convincing oneself that all afflictions are bodhi, that all are the signs of suchness, while being unable to realize the signless; after thus convincing oneself, one feels at ease. But ease of mind is one thing—the sinful karma still exists and has not been eliminated, and karmic retribution spares no one. To do this is misapprehended emptiness, and the retribution will not deviate in the slightest.

Our study of Buddhism and practice has its sequence and its method; one must not act recklessly. What a bodhisattva can do, an ordinary being may not necessarily be able to do. Going along with conditions to liberate those of the opposite sex is beyond the capability of ordinary beings; that is the conduct of bodhisattvas on the bhūmis with profound meditative concentration. If an ordinary being does so, one will surely go to the three evil destinies.

The Buddhadharma today is simply in complete disorder. Most people's mind consciousness is very clever and can understand something of the practice states of bodhisattvas on the bhūmis and of the Buddha, and so they hang the dharmas that bodhisattvas on the bhūmis should practice on their lips, believing that they too can accomplish them. Is this possible? You are not Sudhana (Good Wealth) Youth; you do not have Sudhana's roots of goodness and merit, and you are unwilling to solidly cultivate concentration and contemplative practice.

In our practice, we should change the habit of "Chan on the lips." The Buddhadharma requires actual practice before there can be actual realization; actual practice and actual realization are not slogans. There must be practical, feasible, concrete methods of actual practice; if there are none, then it is not actual practice, and realization is impossible. Even if we can speak the words spoken by the Buddha, it is of no use—it is merely shouting slogans. Only by taking step after step underfoot can there be any hope.