Knowing Which Grade You Are In So You Can Practice According to Your Capacity

Have you ever sat in meditation while your mind wandered endlessly, and then wondered, "Why do I try so hard to practice but make no progress?" Perhaps you are like a student in the third grade demanding to do twelfth-grade calculus. In his dharma talk "The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Part 3)," Thầy Thích Chân Quang taught that it is precisely not knowing our own capacity that causes us to apply effort wrongly, and the longer we drift, the more we suffer.

Which grade are you in on the path of practice?

Thầy Thích Chân Quang taught that everyone who enters school dreams of becoming a doctor, but from the first grade to a doctoral degree is a long journey. Likewise, those new to meditation all aspire to attain the four absorptions and their fruits, but first we must "learn to sit properly before asking for favors." This dharma talk is not meant to discourage you, but to help you recognize a truth: not everyone reaches the highest goal immediately. Knowing which grade you are in helps you develop the right attitude and the right method of practice.

Applying effort wrongly wastes our energy

Thầy emphasized:

"If we know one truth about our own capacity, we will have a way of practicing that matches our capacity. Immediately we gain benefit, immediately we make progress. But simply because we do not know where our capacity stands, we apply effort wrongly."

For example, a new soldier who imitates the behavior of a general will be disciplined, while one who fulfills his own duties will be promoted step by step. In a company, a new employee who acts like the director will be fired, while one who does the job well will advance. Practice is the same: do not rush to dream of lofty heights, but begin with small, solid steps.

First lower capacity: when the mind is full of wrong thinking

A person of the first lower capacity wants to practice meditation but has an extremely restless mind, constantly giving rise to four kinds of wrong thinking: thoughts that are mistaken, improper, malicious, and unnecessary. After just a few minutes of sitting, distracting thoughts flood in, and they sit on and on while faults pile up, sometimes even to the point of breakdown. What should be done? Thầy taught that such a person needs a spiritual friend to guide them, along with bowing to the Buddha in repentance, doing good deeds, and cultivating three fundamental attitudes of mind: absolute reverence for the Buddha, boundless love for all beings, and utter humility. Do not dream of entering deep concentration too soon. Work to transform wrong thinking into right thinking—that alone is a great victory.

Second lower capacity: wandering thoughts circling around

Somewhat better off than the first, a person of the second lower capacity can sit for longer, but is still dragged away by wandering thoughts, thinking only of unnecessary things, forgetting the breath, forgetting the body. Thầy advised:

"The core of meditative concentration is the breath. Simply assess to what degree you have mastered the breath, and you will know your capacity to that same degree."

Such a person also needs to bow to the Buddha in repentance, but must still strive to hold the breath, enduring pain and fatigue in order to sit, while regularly transforming thinking from wrong to right.

Five right contemplations to replace a restless mind

To transform wrong thinking, Thầy taught that we should cultivate five things: first, absolute reverence for the Buddha; second, compassion and boundless love for all beings; third, utter humility; fourth, remembering that body, mind, and world are subject to impermanence (anicca); and fifth, remembering that this body and mind are a mass of faults. Regularly cultivating these five things increases merit, and as Thầy said, "the face gradually becomes more beautiful"—a sign of progress.

The raft of right Dharma and the teaching that "even right Dharma must be let go"

Thầy recalled the Buddha's words: "Monks, even right Dharma must be let go, let alone wrong Dharma." But do not misunderstand this and slander the Buddha's teachings (Dharma)! Thầy explained that the right Dharma here refers to right thinking, the raft that carries us across the river of birth and death. Once we reach the shore and step onto land, we must leave the raft of thinking behind in order to enter true concentration. The essence of reverence, compassion, and humility is never lost, but the reasoning and thinking must be released through letting go.

Do not fear the pain of seeing your own limitations

Perhaps by this point you feel sad to realize you are only in the first or second grade. But this is like discovering we have been living in an "illusory spring," still very far from the noble ones. Suffering (dukkha) from knowing the truth is the beginning of a new spring. From now on, practice according to your own capacity: bow to the Buddha, practice repentance, do good deeds, cultivate the three fundamental attitudes of mind, and contemplate impermanence (anicca) and the faulty nature of body and mind. If you find your mind still restless, transform wrong thinking into right thinking, and remember that having a spiritual friend to guide you is a great blessing. Start from your own first grade. May you always be diligent on the path of practice.