As regards the fourth prerequisite, being resolute in our
determination to succeed in whichever method we have chosen,
please let me warn you about the folly of jumping around from
method to method. Think of the Dharma as a mountain you must
climb. There are many paths which lead to the summit. Choose one
and stay with it! It will lead you there! But you will never get to the
top if you race around the mountain trying one path and then rejecting it in favor of another that looks easier. You will circle the mountain many times, but you will never climb it. Stay with your chosen
method. Be absolutely faithful to it.
In Chan we always tell stories about purchased devils.
One particular story is very appropriate here:
One day a fellow was strolling through the marketplace
when he came to a stall that said, "For Sale: First Class Devils." Of
course, the man was intrigued. Wouldn't you be? I would. "Let me
see one of these devils," he said to the merchant.
The devil was a strange little creature... rather like a monkey. "He's really quite intelligent," said the merchant. "And all you
have to do is tell him each morning what you want him to accomplish that day, and he will do it."
"Anything?" asked the man.
"Yes," said the merchant, "Anything. All your household
chores will be finished by the time you get home from work."
Now the man happened to be a bachelor and so the devil
sounded like a pretty good investment. "I'll take it," he said. And he
paid the merchant.
"There's just one little thing," said the merchant - there's
always just one little thing, isn't there? - "You must be faithful in
telling him what to do each day. Never omit this! Give him his
instructions every morning and all will be well. Remember to keep
to this routine!"
The man agreed and took his devil home and every morning he told him to do the dishes and the laundry and to clean the
house and prepare the dinner; and by the time he returned from
work, everything was accomplished in the most wonderful manner.
But then the man's birthday came and his friends at work
decided to give him a party. He got very drunk and stayed in town
overnight at a friend's house and went directly to work the following morning. He never returned home to tell his devil what to do.
And when he returned home that night he discovered that his devil
had burned down his house and was dancing around the smoking
ruins.
And isn't this what always happens? When we take up a
practice we vow with our blood that we will hold to it faithfully. But
then the first time we set it down and neglect it, we bring disaster to
it. It's as though we never had a practice at all.
So, regardless of whether you choose the path of Mantra,
or Yantra, or Breath Counting, or a Hua Tou, or repeating the Buddha's name, stay with your method! If it doesn't deliver you today,
try again tomorrow. Tell yourself that you will be so determined
that if you have to continue your practice in the next life, you will
do so in order to succeed. Old Master Wei Shan used to say, "Stay
with your chosen practice. Take as many reincarnations as you need
to attain Buddhahood."
I know it's easy to become discouraged when we think
we're not making progress. We try and try but when enlightenment
doesn't come we want to give up the struggle. Perseverance is itself
an accomplishment.
Be steadfast and patient. You're not alone in your struggle.
According to ancient wisdom, "We train for dreary eons - for
enlightenment that occurs in a flashing instant."
