Quote:
"Studying the dharma without realizing the original Mind [tathāgatagarbha] is of no benefit."
The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch
「不識本心，學法無益」
《六祖壇經》
Remarks:
The fifth Chan patriarch once said to the sixth Chan patriarch, "Studying the dharma without realizing the original Mind [tathāgatagarbha] is of no benefit.” That is, the Path to Buddhahood is no other than realizing the True Mind (attaining enlightenment) and personally witnessing the ultimate reality of the dharma realm, thereby bringing forth the prajñā, which will allow us to enter the gateway to the Path to Buddhahood.
In the self-cultivation toward the Path to Buddhahood, the required merits and related wisdom are immense, and the final goal is to become a Buddha to benefit all beings. It will take three immeasurable eons to achieve this goal. Naturally, one must become a bodhisattva first by truly cultivating the myriad practices subsumed in the six paramitas to accumulate the required stocks of merits and virtues and the related prajñā along the way.
Most importantly, of all the cultivation methods in Buddhism, we require actual performances and practices rather than speculative research or mere knowledgeable reading. The fact is, each and every practice has been the factual process experienced by all Buddhas and thus was laid down as one of the 52 predetermined cultivation stages for us to follow. Hence, initially aspiring to the bodhi mind is fundamental to becoming a bodhisattva practitioner.
#Buddha #tathagatagarbha
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