itslikethis-ajahn-chah

PatienceDesire is something known right at the mind. We’re like fishermen who goout to cast their nets. As soon as they catch a fish, they rush to pounce on it,which scares the fish away. The fishermen are afraid that the fish will escapefrom the net. When that’s the case, the fish are confused and hard to control,and so they quickly escape from the net.This is why people in the past taught us to gradually feel our way along, tokeep at it gradually and steadily. When you feel lazy, you do it. When you feeldiligent, you do it. If you keep doing it a lot, then as soon as you find the quietpath, the mind will calm down. When you practice, you’re taught to keep at it.Don’t give up. When you feel diligent, you do it. When you feel lazy, you do it—but you have to practice like a person spinning a fire stick. If you start andstop, start and stop and start again because you’re impatient, you won’t getanywhere—because of your impatience.When you practice, you don’t need to think about a lot of things. Just surveyright at yourself. You don’t have to survey anywhere else. If you see yourself,you see other people. It’s like aspirin and Tylenol: If you know one, you knowthe other, because they’re both meant to cure the same illness. They’re bothpainkillers.People who practice and those who study like to criticize each other, butit’s like putting your hand palm-up and palm-down. When it’s palm-down, thepalm hasn’t gone away anywhere. It’s right there, just that we don’t see it. Ifyou study without practicing, you don’t see things for what they are—and thatcan make you deluded.