Part One: Introduction

Today, we have the supreme auspicious affinity to study the Buddha-Dharma together with so many excellent and virtuous people. You must not underestimate yourselves, for all sentient beings possess the Tathāgata’s wisdom and virtuous characteristics. As long as we arouse the resolve and practice the Dharma, recognize that all appearances in the world are false and unobtainable, cease pursuing them, turn our minds toward goodness, and liberate ourselves while liberating others, we are great bodhisattvas.

We often say that human birth is hard to obtain and the Buddha-Dharma hard to hear.

Indeed. Consider the countless sentient beings within the six directions and throughout the universe: how many obtain a human body? The beings born from wombs, eggs, moisture, and transformation are as numerous as the earth itself, while those who obtain a human body are as few as the soil beneath a fingernail—truly pitifully few. Yet insects and ants cover the ground everywhere, and the tiny creatures we commonly feed to fish are so numerous that one cannot know how many are caught in a single sweep of a net.

Thus, it is indeed true that human birth is hard to obtain. And how many of those who have obtained human birth are able to hear the Buddha-Dharma? Far fewer still.

Among all the people in the world, not many can hear the Buddha-Dharma. Even among those who can, still fewer hear sūtras of the definitive meaning of the Mahāyāna; and among those who hear the Mahāyāna Buddha-Dharma, fewer still arouse the resolve to practice diligently and realize their original nature. Most believers in Buddhism merely come into contact with its outer edges: they burn incense, bow before the Buddha, seek a little blessing, and plant a few wholesome roots. This can serve only as provisions for their future practice and realization of the Way.

Those who can truly understand the real meaning of the Buddha-Dharma and practice accordingly are exceedingly rare. The Esoteric Teaching of Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State, which we will discuss today, is the most secret of the secret teachings within Esoteric Buddhism. It is a secret Dharma treasure not lightly transmitted, a great Dharma through which one can attain accomplishment without first undergoing practice.

In the Pure Land school, the Chan school, and Esoteric Buddhism generally, one must practice Chan contemplation, sit in meditation, and enter samādhi before deluded thoughts can be stilled, one’s original nature opened, and Buddha-nature directly seen. This Dharma does not require such practice. Once you understand what it means to attain Buddhahood and transcend birth and death, and receive this secret instruction, you can attain liberation at the time of death. Therefore, it is the unsurpassed great Dharma, the most secret of the secret teachings.

That we are fortunate enough to hear this Dharma today is truly a blessing gained through wholesome roots planted over many lives and kalpas. Before expounding this Dharma, let us first look at “Background to the Translation” and the “Preface.” Having understood the course by which this Dharma has been transmitted and the basic knowledge necessary for practicing it, we will know its preciousness.