Practice is something I emphasize the most. We usually call it “habituation,” but we are more familiar with the term “practice,” as we have been doing practice exercises since we were young. After class, we need to practice. Many people neglect the importance of practice and focus only on learning, like monkeys picking up and throwing away corns. By doing so, they don’t make much progress. We need to pay attention to practice.
You need some basic concentration as the basis for practicing mindfulness. Without basic concentration, your mindfulness cannot arise. With mindfulness, you can attain the wisdom of realizing the true nature of things, and with that wisdom, you can eliminate afflictions and attain true peace. When meditating on multiplicity, we will find that the five aggregates—form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness—are composed of multiple parts, and each aggregate is also composed of multiple parts. Then, when meditating on impermanence, we will find that the five aggregates are impermanent, changing moment by moment. Next, when meditating on pervasive suffering, we will find that the five aggregates are driven by external factors, without the slightest freedom. Based on these three aspects, we can eliminate ego-grasping. So, what happens after becoming egoless? Sometimes we might feel confused: “Even though egolessness is the true nature, isn’t my awareness still present?” Yes, awareness is present. Awareness has nothing to do with ego-grasping. Awareness is an extension of our true nature, or we can say it is a wondrous function of our true nature. A wondrous function of our true nature is awareness. Awareness won’t cease, neither does it constantly change; it is neither permanent nor subject to cessation. However, ego-grasping is not inherent; thus, it can be eliminated. Likewise, the various distorted attachments and karmic habits like greed, anger, and ignorance were not inherent but gradually cultivated over countless eons. Through practice, we can completely eradicate them. Of course, the root is ignorance. All these distortions—whether attachment to self, attachment to phenomena, or the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion—they all arise due to ignorance. They are gradually developed from fundamental ignorance. Based on this fundamental ignorance, the attachment to self and phenomena gradually arises, and the three poisons are gradually habituated. Little by little, we become the way we are today, reincarnating cycle after cycle. Now that we have found the root, by gradually eliminating greed, anger, and delusion, as well as ego-grasping, we will slowly uncover the fundamental ignorance. After eradicating the fundamental ignorance, we will attain enlightenment. We need to use our awareness to find the way back to our true nature. Because we have been lost for so long and ignorance is so deep, we need to use our awareness to slowly walk back. Therefore, we say “reflect the light inward,” to gradually find the way back. Our minds have been lost for too long.