【In Buddhism, there are not many people who can transcend the eighth ground. Only the Bodhisattva of Earth-holding and the Bodhisattva of Guanshiyin do. Why?
It is Earth-holding Bodhisattva who did this which was not a practice.He went to repair the road, every day to repair the road.He does not keep the precepts, he does not hold the Buddha’s name, he does not practice meditation, he does not have the precepts，meditation or wisdom.He does not recite the Buddha’s name, you say this repairing the road?
Yes, he repaired the road. You can see that he had been repairing for several lifetimes, but he could transcend the eighth ground, and to transcend the eight ground is to transcend two great Asamkhyeya eons.Which one is faster and which one is slower?
It is the same as others who had not yet passed the first initiation. Because the first initiation takes a great Asamkhyeya eons, but he had already surpassed the eighth ground. Therefore, sometimes, if you learn as much as you can, you are really not as good as practicing with sentient beings.
For example, let’s say Master Xuanzang, is he high? Very high. Let’s not talk about the Dharma, just the language, he learned everywhere he went, and after he finished learning it, he was good at it, he could speak it, and he could debate with your local people.
His language ability is so powerful. How many people can compare? No one can. But if you ask him to compare with Earth-holding Bodhisattva, Earth-holding Bodhisattva can now go far beyond the eight ground, can he do so? No.】
He also went to ask for the Dharma for sentient beings to get the scriptures, right?
【Even if you developed the heart more,have sentient beings really benefited?】
No, it’s good to let all sentient beings really benefit?
【When he repaired the roads, at least they let sentient beings really benefit, so they could walk smoothly and comfortably, so they didn’t need to climb step by step.
Then you understand why all those Zen masters were working and serving others to achieve success. For example, the Sixth Patriarch pounded rice, didn’t he? They all served others and became successful. On the contrary, Shenxiu led those people to sit in meditation every day, see how much worse he was?】
Did more people who sat in meditation at that time achieve enlightenment? Were they also enlightened?
【No.】
Why did they all like to sit in meditation and not do anything? That was the cause and condition, right?
【Again, it’s from those ones who have achieved. Before they achieved, they said, “You guys sit in meditation, come on, I’ll go to work. When they achieve, they still say,”You guys sit in meditation,I’ll go to work.Just raise these people to sit in meditation every day.】
That’s the reason why the unaccomplished people are raised ruining by the accomplished people?
I’m telling you, that person can really be raised ruining, because when you work, you want to sleep, but can not sleep. For example, if the Sixth Patriarch was pounding rice, and we watched it on TV, he was pounding rice, and if you were meditating there, he could fall asleep, but if you were pounding rice there, you couldn’t sleep.
When you are pounding rice, even if you are tired of chasing delusions, he will not think about it, as long as people do not follow delusions, especially Zen Buddhists they are used to not following the world, fruits of karma, sentient beings , the three causes are not born, the three conditions are broken. He pounded rice there, and he didn’t follow delusions. Instead, he was able to meditate there, and if you sit there, at most you fall asleep.
In the end, those who practiced meditation, they all sat in meditation there. Why did this way of meditation finally fail and fall? It was because they were all sitting there.
When Buddhism finally flourished, many lay Buddhists came to work, and the masters didn’t even have the opportunity to pound rice or to be the storekeeper, so they were all sitting in meditation there little by little.】
Since those achievers know that those people who sit in meditation will be raised waste, then let them go to work.
【It has the problem of habits,and it is said that they have always been taught to sit in meditation like that.You see,the Buddha is sitting, the Buddha is sitting there, then learn the Buddha well.
In reality, as we read in the sutras, there are some that require you to sit, and many that don’t require you to sit, even if he just tells you not to follow the delusions. In the end, you will find a way not to follow the delusions, and if you sleep,do you follow the delusions? If you work there and don’t even sleep, then won’t you be accomplished soon?】