Phurpa Tashi Rinpoche
Some practitioners feel doubts about why their mind has not changed much despite doing prostrations, attending pujas, making pilgrimages to holy places, making offerings, giving charity, chanting mantras and reading various Dharma books etc. for many years.
The merit from these virtuous actions certainly exists. However, compared to the strength of negative karma and afflictions accumulated from past lives, only depending on the power of virtues created by body and speech is relatively insignificant and insufficient.
Paltrul Rinpoche said, "Mind is the source of all Dharmas" Therefore, Dharma practice should be focused on the mind, which is a much quicker and more effective path.
Many people say they have meditated for many years, so why are they still so far from realizing the illusory nature of all phenomena?
One needs to understand that from Hinayana to Vajrayana, a systematic path is required. What is generally lacking in modern-day practice is a systematic and gradual approach.
Often, the practitioner obtains a meditation method from a certain teacher or a certain book without considering if it will be effective or suitable for one's own capacity. They may then follow this method for their entire life.
Although, at the beginning, one might be able to persist in practice because of the novelty of the method, but as time passes, the feeling of freshness and excitement wears off and they find themselves unmotivated to continue practicing no matter how they try.
This is either because the teaching is too high and they lack the foundation to use it, or because the teaching is below their capacity and they don't know how to progress further... These are the primary reasons leading to stagnation in practice.
So, how should one make adjustment to one’s practice?
Firstly, the mind is the most fundamental and essential among the three doors of body, speech and mind, therefore, Dharma practice must be centered upon training the mind. This is called “training the primary with the primary”. The virtues of body and speech are only supportive practices, they are called “training the primary with the secondary”.
(“Primary” refers to mind; “Secondary” refers to body and speech)
Secondly, one needs to rely on a qualified teacher because all the thousand Buddhas of this fortunate eon attained enlightenment by following a Guru. Books are only general explanations, one cannot achieve liberation by relying only on books.
Thirdly, the Guru should transmit systematic methods of practice tailored to one's capacity. If one practices step-by-step properly according to the Guru's instructions then liberation will certainly be attained.
