The Most Secure and Reliable Dharma Door of Practice

Question: Is it more certain to attain liberation from the cycle of rebirth by cultivating the realization of severing self-view and attaining its fruit, or is it more certain to transcend the cycle of birth and death by reciting the Buddha's name to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss? Is there a Dharma door that offers the highest return with minimal effort, a relatively safe and reliable method?

Answer: The core ideas of your question are: 1. How can one attain liberation from the cycle of rebirth with certainty? 2. Is cultivating the Pure Land practice of Buddha recitation faster and more reliable than severing self-view? I say: The safest and most reliable way to attain liberation and transcend the cycle of birth and death is to immediately attain the virtue and capability of a sage—to have one's body, mind, and world become like that of a sage. Not only should one’s understanding and insight be equal to that of a sage, but one’s meditative concentration and spiritual powers should also be equal. One’s moral character, cultivation, and mental disposition should be equal, as should the breadth of one’s mind, the strength of one’s vows, and the purity of one’s resolve. One should also be equal in the Four Immeasurable Minds of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. In short, one must be equal to a sage in all aspects to attain liberation and ease like a sage, to enter serene nirvana, free from the constraints of karmic forces. Do you agree with what I’ve said?

The principle of the Four Noble Truths enables sentient beings to see through and perceive the emptiness of the five-aggregate world of Saha, thereby enabling them to let go of all attachments and conditions in Saha, single-mindedly recite the Buddha’s name, seek rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, and align their minds with the Pure Land, making rebirth easy. If one attains the stage of Stream-Enterer (Sotāpatti) or beyond, rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is even more assured. Without the support of the Four Noble Truths, reciting the Buddha’s name becomes absent-minded, entangled in the various causes and conditions of Saha, merely wasting precious time. Therefore, cultivating the Four Noble Truths and reciting the Buddha’s name are not contradictory; they can integrate and mutually reinforce each other.

Attaining the fruit (of enlightenment) and realizing the mind both represent a state where the mind is liberated from the cycle of birth and death of ordinary beings. Reaching this state signifies that one’s virtue and capability are profoundly profound. Such profound virtue and capability are given names: defined as attaining the fruit of severing self-view, realizing the mind and seeing one’s true nature, progressing from the first fruit of Stream-Enterer (Sotāpanna) to the fourth fruit of Arhatship, defined as the Three Sage Positions of Bodhisattvas, or defined as the First to Eighth Ground Bodhisattvas. Even without any name or definition, as long as one fully possesses these virtues and capabilities, one is liberated, transcending the state of birth and death of ordinary beings. Therefore, regardless of how sentient beings cultivate or what they practice, as long as they can reach this state, it is sufficient. By elevating their body, mind, and world by several levels, the realm they inhabit immediately becomes one of liberation. Transforming the body, mind, and world is fundamental; elevating one’s own virtue and capability is fundamental. Everything else is secondary. If one cannot elevate one’s virtue or transform one’s body, mind, and world, none of the secondary attainments will manifest. Then, what use is clinging to secondary attainments? As for the safest and most reliable Dharma door for cultivation, should it not be clear by now?

All manifestations, attainments, and retributions of karmic fruits are realized by the Tathagatagarbha. What does the Tathagatagarbha base these manifestations on? On the practitioner’s mind—the actions of the mind, body, speech, and intention. If the actions of the mind, body, speech, and intention are insufficient, the Tathagatagarbha cannot manifest any karmic fruit or retribution. How, then, could there be attainments from the first to the fourth fruit, the Three Sage Positions, or Bodhisattvas who have entered the grounds? How could rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss be possible? No personal definition or selection of these karmic fruits counts; only what the Tathagatagarbha manifests is true and real. Therefore, arguing and obsessing over the fruits is far less substantial than practicing diligently, step by step, in accordance with the Dharma.