Attaining Fruition Through Consciousness: A Deviant Path in Spiritual Practice During the Dharma-Ending Age

The path of cultivation in the Saha world is fraught with countless bypaths. Without substantial roots of goodness and merit, it is truly difficult to discern the correct direction, especially in subtle matters. Without having walked that path, one can easily go astray. Even a small bypath can waste an immense amount of cultivation time, and extricating oneself is no easy task—let alone major bypaths, which are even harder to recognize and retreat from. Is the realization of fruition and enlightenment of the mind merely a matter of consciousness attaining it, or must the manas (mind root) and consciousness together realize fruition and enlightenment? Is this question a minor or major bypath? Is the notion that one can realize bodhi without severing afflictions a minor or major bypath?

The issue of realizing the Dharma is the most critical matter for both individual sentient beings and the entire Buddhist community. It is a pivotal point concerning life and death, survival and extinction. Therefore, while other teachings may err, this particular issue absolutely cannot be wrong. If this issue is mistaken, then a fundamental principle is flawed—a grave matter concerning the fate of sentient beings and Buddhism itself. As we approach the Dharma Ending Age, the number of bypaths in Buddhist cultivation and realization increases. In ancient times, people learning Buddhism engaged in cultivation and practice; nowadays, most learners only study, rarely touching upon cultivation and practice. Yet, among the ancient practitioners, awakening was slow and rare, while in the Dharma Ending Age, learners awaken quickly and in greater numbers. Isn’t this very abnormal? Of course it is. Buddhism will eventually perish, and it will perish precisely here—at the very root of cultivation and realization. Without genuine realization, Buddhism will struggle to endure. This is why, for many years, I have emphasized the realization of fruition and enlightenment through the manas. I have written several books on the manas, fearing that Buddhism might be rapidly extinguished.

I have explained the realization of fruition through the manas thoroughly from every angle, yet there remain dull-witted scholars and Dharma teachers who stubbornly refuse to accept this truth and dare not acknowledge it. Why? Because once they accept it, their status and attainments in both Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism would vanish, reducing them to ordinary beings—how unwilling they are! But such avoidance is highly irrational. It reflects a lack of priority for the path, a failure to take the Dharma and truth as one’s refuge. Evading facts is not the conduct of a great being; it is a manifestation of self-attachment.

If sentient beings possess deep roots of goodness and merit, even if they encounter a bypath, they will ultimately rely on their own goodness and merit to emerge from it and return to the correct path. Therefore, every Buddhist practitioner should cultivate more merit and plant more roots of goodness to ensure they avoid bypaths in this life and future lives, possessing the wisdom eye to discern the Dharma, the ability to distinguish truth, immunity to misguidance, and avoidance of falling into evil destinies. As we move deeper into the Dharma Ending Age, opportunities to cultivate merit and plant roots of goodness increase. Those who genuinely aspire to attain the Way and have made great vows should seize every opportunity to plant abundant roots of goodness and merit. Not only will they benefit infinitely across lifetimes, but they will also accelerate their progress on the Buddhist path, attaining wisdom and liberation sooner, thereby benefiting both themselves and others.