The Scripture of the Fo...

Dictionary

The Scripture of the Founding Master

Chapter Six: Doubts Clarified

36

He also asked, “It is said that as practitioners of the Way proceed with their cultivation, they will reach the stage in which they perform the ‘liberation of the corpse.’ Which status does one need to achieve for this to occur?” The Founding Master said, “Some people are unable to do this even though they have ascended to the status of tathāgata, but others have done so by concentrating on a specific type of partial cultivation, although they have neither ‘seen the nature’ nor achieved even the status of Māra defeated. But you cannot say that through this they have achieved the well-rounded Way. Therefore, in the coming age, no matter how well you have mastered all knowledge from astronomy above to geography below, managed to separate flesh from bone, or achieved superpowers, you are still only partially a person of the Way unless you understand the human affairs and universal principles governing this world. Therefore, you must proceed with the simultaneous training in the Threefold Study and nurture a well-rounded character.”