PureInsight | November 12, 2001
I have a mantra. Every night before I go to sleep I repeat these words twice: “Get up, make tea, read Master Li.”
The following morning I do precisely that – make tea and then read, for at least half an hour, from one of Master Li’s works. This never varies. I do not even look at another printed word, a commitment I made long ago and consistently adhere to, until I have finished reading from Zhuan Falun or another one of Master’s many texts. Sometimes while I am reading, it is a bit difficult to fight thought interferences that pop into my head. I then say out loud “get on the fence and stay there,” meaning the fence in front of our house. I don’t want any interference to break my concentration and learning of the Fa.
I also set goals for the week: on particular days I watch no television, not even the news. Sometimes the temptation is great to break this promise, especially when a movie is advertised which I always wanted to see. When I do watch television, I made a promise long ago never to watch beyond the hour of midnight. I set other goals, usually four per week. They focus on giving up for a few days certain things I love to do, hear or see, such as classical music, creative writing, a hugging visit with grandchildren. Sensual pleasures are, after all, part of the Six Desires we must abandon. Temptation looms large to change my mind, but my strong will to remain consistent wins.
Consistency and sticking with decisions builds character. Sometimes it is inconvenient from my everyday person’s (that part of me that has not yet cultivated properly) viewpoint to stick with my resolutions to remain consistent. Once I do so, however, I feel that I am an inch closer on the right path to the top. Let me give you a mundane example. I made a commitment to myself that I would not go to the grocery store for the whole month. I had promised another cultivator, however, to show her how to prepare a certain cake recipe and bring her all the ingredients. When I realized that I did not have a necessary item at home, I got into my car and started the engine, planning to head to the store. Was this perhaps out of an emotional attachment called “affection?” Something nudged my conscience and I realized that I had to keep my promise not to go to the store, to remain consistent. I went back in the house instead. Yes, I was consistent, but I still had a small dilemma. What to do about the fellow practitioner? Just about that time a neighbor came by and returned what she had borrowed before, exactly the ingredient I was missing.
By being consistent, keeping small promises and sticking to small commitments in our daily lives and cultivation journey we make progress. If we remain consistent in reading and understanding the Fa, we will be able to keep bigger commitments to the Fa, make advances and avoid the rocks that could make us stumble on this road called cultivation.
Please, dear people, correct any misunderstandings I may have produced.
