Working diligently day and night, never wavering for a second, just extinguish the stirring mind, do not extinguish the shining mind; just stabilize the open mind, do not stabilize the dwelling mind. Do not rest on anything, yet have the mind always present.
Zhang San Feng (Chang San Feng),
Cleary Vitality, Energy, Spirit p. 201
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The Fat Monk 
Hi Xiaoyao, thank you so much for sharing this quote that so perfectly encapsulates the essence of practice. I was wondering if you could say something more, though, on how a practitioner should rouse up the motivation to work ‘diligently day and night, never wavering for a second’?
In the past I’ve read quotes similar to this from the ancient masters and felt very inspired to be super diligent at my practice and maintain that constant attention to being mindful everywhere and all the time. However, I often find that the motivation that propels me to try and practice like this leads me to either becoming overly strict and harsh on myself and others, leading to a more rigid and tightly held feeling and quality of mind, or I just get worn out. In contrast, I actually find it much easier to embody a mind that inclines towards relinquishment (not resting on anything) when I don’t try and push myself to ‘never waver for a second’, and take a more easy going attitude, though, it definitely doesn’t feel as diligent.
Any advice that you could offer on the subject would be much appreciated!
Thank you.
Rather than the ‘essence of practice,’ the advice in Zhang’s excerpt (which is repeated in many other Daoist works) is more like a signpost placed at a crucial crossroads of praxis.
Also, one must be very cautious of requesting practice advice from random people on the internet, unless, of course, you have no intention of following it to begin with – a not uncommon habit 🙂
If you have a teacher, your praxis questions should be directed to them.
With that caveat in place, however, it is allowable to say that I once had a very similar question which I addressed to a competent guide, and was told: the work does need to be done, but you can work hard, or you can work smart. First is to understand what you are aiming for. If your aim is to “feel dedicated”, there is nothing simpler, which is why much of the so-called spiritual activity we observe is directed toward doing precisely that.
Liu Yi-Ming has a book called the Xiang Yan Po Yi 《象言破疑》Breaking up Doubts regarding Symbolic Language in which he says:
Thank you Xiaoyao for the reply and the reminder to be careful of who you ask for advice regarding practice. I found that Liu Yi-Ming quote very helpful.
When you say –
If your aim is to “feel dedicated”, there is nothing simpler, which is why much of the so-called spiritual activity we observe is directed toward doing precisely that.
Do you mean that real dedication doesn’t look complicated, strenuous and ornate, or if all you want is to “feel dedicated” then that is much simpler than actually doing real practice? Just a little bit confused as to what you mean by ‘there is nothing simpler’.
Many thanks
The latter.
If you want to feel good about your dedication, all you have to do is buy an alarm clock, set it for 4 AM, then get up and do your practice. Simple.
But since the motivation to do this is based on the desire to feel good about yourself, the results accrue mainly to your sense of self.
So we’re stuck, right? As the Chan people say: “You will not find it by searching. But if you do not search, you won’t find it.”
What, then, draws us to practice? If wu wei is the right practice, when do we wei and why? 🙂
Is a magnet ever not drawn toward what attracts it?
Yes, if there are layers of obstruction between the attractor and the attracted. So initially we need to actively work on removing those obstructions, and gradually allow ourselves to register the attraction. At that point we can lessen our wei and allow the wu wei to work.
The fat monk “More Talks” and “Working in the World” both discuss this from other angles.
Thank you very much for your reply!
It clarifies a lot (not least what was meant by trying to feel dedicated being ‘simpler’) and I can see some really interesting parallels with what you are saying here and some other literature I’ve been reading on the topic of practice recently as well.
Many thanks
A real world illustration of part of the problem:
http://tinyurl.com/zfuwcqg
Hahaha, such a hilarious and poignant video!! I will definitely remember that next time I feel frustrated at myself for being too lax about practice or self sabotaging.
On the topic of balancing wei & wuwei, in your opinion how essential is it to have a teacher to be able to tell you when you need to increase or lessen the ratio between them?
Thank you