Dharma Master Jingjie
When the Tzu Chi organisation first started, Master Cheng Yen asked her members
to donate one dollar every day. Someone said, "Master, this is too troublesome. I might as well just give
you thirty dollars a month." Cheng Yen replied, “No, when you donate one dollar every day, you generate the
virtuous thought of giving every day.” This is called “repeatedly activating
(the good karmic seeds)". If you give thirty dollars in one day, you only
give rise to the virtuous thought once and then you forget about it.
Master Cheng Yen possesses great wisdom. Master Chanyun’s practice was similar—
accumulating bit by bit, drop by drop. For example, if you only attend one seven-day Amitabha recitation retreat a
year and during that retreat you bow one thousand times a day. For the rest of
the year, you do not bow to the Buddha at all. This cannot compare to bowing
forty-eight times a day for a whole year. This is what is meant by accumulating
drop by drop.
Honestly speaking, practicing in a “rainstorm” manner is not effective.
You do not bow to the Buddha daily, but when you attend a retreat, you bow one
thousand times a day, bowing for twenty-one days, then stop bowing altogether,
this is not of much effect. You can’t collect water this way! If you bow forty-eight times daily for three
years then it is inconceivable! You will realize the importance of regular
daily practice.
We do not want the “rainstorm” style where a lot of water suddenly comes; that
will only cause a flood disaster. If you practice bit by bit, drop by drop,
constant dripping water can even wear through stone.
As you slowly come to understand the principles of cause-and-effect, you will
know what conditions help your practice to progress and what conditions are not
much help to your progress. The binge-eating style of practice is not of much help. Relying on sheer brute
strength and bravery will not change your mind on a deep level.
Therefore, consistent and sustained effort is all about frequency (of
practice). The “drop by drop” style of practice far surpasses the “rainstorm”
style of practice because it activates (the positive karmic seeds) repeatedly,
(thereby inculcating a deep habit).
The transformation of our mind requires a period of time to slowly brew and be
infused with the good qualities. So, no matter what good karma you create, the frequency must be high and consistent. It is
better to do a daily practice; in this way, you strengthen the power of
reciting Amitabha, making the good karma infinitely more powerful due to
sustained effort.
