The Examined Path Through Credential vs. learning — the distinction that matters

The credential and the learning it is supposed to certify have drifted apart — one can be acquired without the other, in both directions. This distinction matters because confusing the signal (the degree, the certificate) with what it signals (actual understanding, capacity, wisdom) produces both inflated credentials and invisible competence. The Sutras' project was never credentialed: it was a transmission of understanding whose only valid test was whether citta actually changed — whether the instrument became more precise, more stable, more clear.

The course sequence, in order.

Each step builds on the last.