When you engage in diligent practice, your primary duty is to dedicate your heart and mind completely to the task at hand. You must strive with sincerity, ensuring that your efforts are focused and pure. During this time, you should not allow any messy thoughts or delusions to take root in your mind. Instead, you must learn to let go of these distractions entirely. Your mind should be so pure that only the Buddha-name and the intention of purification remain. As you chant , allow the energy of the Buddha-name to flow through your entire being. In that moment of deep purification, your body, mind, and spirit will reach a state of perfect balance. You will find that your practice elevates, leading to results that are truly inconceivable.
Every ounce of effort you put into your diligent practice ultimately benefits you. When you offer a single moment of sincere, pure-hearted effort, you are providing the best possible nourishment for your original nature. This is a powerful energy of purification that allows you to feel profound changes throughout your entire body. Through this process, you can experience significant improvements in your life, whether you wish to improve your bodily functions or alleviate any illnesses within ; all of this can be transformed. Diligent practice is a profound gift you give to yourself.
The Obstacles of
If you find that you are unable to summon a heart of diligent practice, or if you struggle to practise with true consistency, you must look inward. Often, this difficulty arises from your own habitual tendencies or a lack of discipline. Perhaps your personality is still too scattered, making it difficult to concentrate on the path. When you cannot focus your efforts for the sake of both yourself and all sentient beings, you may find yourself trapped in a cycle of self-centeredness. Those who live only for themselves often suffer the most. They lack a clear goal, living day by day without direction. As time passes, they may find that they have achieved nothing, lacking the drive to improve their lives or their practice. In such states, one is rarely the master of one's own destiny.
There are many reasons why one might fail to be diligent, but the root cause is always the self. It is your own nature and your own choices that create these obstacles. If you continue to indulge your personality and follow your whims, you will never be able to sustain the effort required for true achievement. This is a great tragedy. Furthermore, many people believe they are being diligent when, in reality, they are not. They are often unaware of this because their habitual tendencies mask the true meaning of diligent practice. They may adopt incorrect methods, which only leads to a state of fruitless labour. Such individuals are prone to sudden shifts; they might suddenly give up or lose control because their goals do not align with the reality of their practice. This kind of diligent practice is tainted by a desire for a specific outcome. Even if the effort is real, the presence of an ego-driven mind—a very subtle form of delusion—prevents true success.
The Art of Doing Without a Mind
Your personality, your habits, and your emotions are the first things you must adjust. Furthermore, you should not plan or crave specific results when you work. Everything should be allowed to unfold naturally. You must learn to practise without a mind of attachment. Do not let external desires, such as the craving for achievement, enter your practice. When your heart is filled with delusions, nothing you do will be natural; it will merely be a facade. This is a point that affects many practitioners deeply, and it is my hope that you can understand its significance.
Practice requires constant diligent practice, but this diligence must be pure and natural. Consider your prostrations today. When you perform three thousand prostrations, ask yourself: Is your heart hurried? Are you worried? Are you restless? Or are you feeling lazy? If any of these states are present, your diligent practice is not yet complete. These distractions affect the purity of your practice, and in the end, you will only receive a fleeting benefit rather than the ultimate achievement. However, this is all part of the process. As long as you maintain your awareness and discover the problems within yourself, you have the opportunity to change. You can adjust your habits and your personality, ensuring that you have a better chance of success next time. Practice is a process of continuous refinement. You must believe that while there are many issues to address, every change you make helps you move closer to a pure and perfect achievement. This achievement is not like the goals of the secular world; it is a state of being that requires effort, correction, and, above all, a heart that is free from attachment.
This experience is shared in the hope that I may see more diverse expressions of diligent practice, all aligned with the Right Way, to bring dignity to this centre. Namo Amituofo.
Ashvaghosha
This message was recorded by the Buddhist practitioner Shi Faxi.
