Going Slowly but Steadily: Three Questions About Life's Journey

There was a famous actress who, throughout the days of Tet, sat on the floor of a temple's dishwashing area. People assumed she was a volunteer worker, but she had come to the temple to do only one thing: to serve. This is the story Thầy Thích Chân Quang tells in his New Year's dharma talk, opening up a great question: in this life, where are we actually going?

Life is a journey we never chose

The teacher begins with a remarkably candid observation:

Living is a journey, and life itself is a journey. From the moment we are born into this world, we are forced, compelled, required to be placed upon the stream of life, and we must keep walking.

No one can stand still. From a toddler taking first steps to an elderly person bent with age, everyone is walking on a journey. But precisely because we cannot stop, the most important thing is choosing where we go. If we do not choose for ourselves, life will push us along, and only at the end of the road will we realize we have fallen into an abyss.

Where to go? Two luminous paths

According to the teacher, there are only two paths worth walking:

First, to live a life of service and contribution, bringing joy, benefit and happiness to others. Second, to choose a path that brings virtue to people, bringing noble spiritual values to everyone.

The first path is service — serving, helping, bringing joy to others. The second path is bringing virtue, spirituality, and enlightenment. Both lead to the summit of glory. As for the path of enjoying pleasures for oneself alone, however pleasant it may appear at first, it ultimately leads down into a pit of despair.

Fast or slow? The lesson of the rice

Everyone wants to move fast. But the teacher teaches: to go fast, you need a "vehicle" — and that vehicle is merit. We may wish to create great merit, to donate ten billion to a temple, but what if we have not won the lottery? Just start by reaching into our pocket to buy a few kilograms of rice. The teacher says:

First, go slowly, within the limits of your own capacity. Then cause and effect (karmic law) will give you the ability to go fast.

Going slowly means doing our utmost, contributing fully with whatever we have. Every small act — buying rice, washing dishes, serving others — is a step that is slow but steady. When our merit blossoms, we will have opportunities to do greater things. If we remain slow at that point, that is laziness and selfishness.

Help others succeed first, and you will succeed after

The story of a graduate student in America is living proof of this teaching. She always looked for ways to help her classmates study better than her, even though only five out of two hundred and fifty candidates would be admitted to the doctoral program. Strangely, before the oral examination, the most difficult questions naturally appeared in her mind. She prepared thoroughly and answered brilliantly, winning a full scholarship. The teacher repeats again and again:

You must find success in your own life by helping others succeed first.

Do not snatch success away from others. Let them step ahead, and cause and effect (karmic law) will repay you many times over.

The second path: Bringing virtue and enlightenment

This path is more difficult, requiring us to live virtuously first, to cultivate spiritually first, and only then to offer it to others. The world now stands at a crossroads of human civilization, with the arrival of artificial intelligence. If we do not develop spiritually, we will be ruled by machines. The teacher warns:

If this world lacks the light of spiritual enlightenment, lacks the foundation of non-self (anatta) and virtue, then no matter how far it progresses, it will eventually collapse.

Therefore, go slowly but steadily, creating merit from the smallest things, but never forget to aim toward the noble goal: bringing joy, virtue, and wisdom to the world.

On this first day of the year, let us choose a wise journey for ourselves. Choose the path of service and enlightenment. Walk slowly but steadily, creating merit with whatever we have. When our merit is sufficient, do not hesitate to move quickly to bring greater joy to others. For life is a journey — let us choose the light as our destination.