Can a Practitioner Pause? The "Conjured City" and the "Ultimate Goal" in the Lotus Sutra

On a long journey across a desert, a group of travelers grows exhausted, nearly at the end of their strength. The guiding teacher, through his spiritual powers, conjures a magnificent city and tells everyone they have arrived. All of them enter and rest joyfully. But once they have recovered, the teacher says: This is not yet the ultimate destination. Keep going.

The Story of the Conjured City

The Lotus Sutra tells a vividly imagined story: a guide leads a whole company of people across a desert full of dangers. When they become too weary, the teacher uses his spiritual powers to manifest a splendid, majestic city, filled with people, and tells them they have reached the destination. The whole group rejoices and rests. But in truth, this is only a temporary resting place, so they can regain their strength and continue the journey toward the ultimate goal.

"Enough — you have arrived. Do not fear any longer. This is the destination I have been leading you toward, and you have reached it."

The teacher does not deceive them — he simply offers them a necessary resting point. But not everyone realizes they are only halfway there.

When a Practitioner Hits the Bottom of Their Willpower

There is a harsh truth: ordinary people cannot sustain unlimited willpower when results never seem to arrive. As Master Chan Quang points out:

"This is a real thing. A very real thing."

One may practice for five years, ten years, fifteen years — chanting sutras, sitting in meditation, serving the world — and suddenly see that nothing has changed. At that point, the will begins to slacken. This is precisely when a "conjured city" needs to appear: a small blessing, something wondrous, a little joy, so that a person can rise and keep walking.

Conjured City and Ultimate Goal: What Is the Difference?

Master Chan Quang explains it very clearly:

"The ultimate goal symbolizes the work of benefiting sentient beings. The conjured city that appears along the way symbolizes benefit for oneself alone."

So when we practice and receive peace, happiness, and good fortune — that is only the conjured city. When we step into realms of suffering to rescue others, that is the ultimate goal. And from the conjured city to the ultimate goal, no time can be measured:

"From the moment we generate the aspiration to practice until we receive the conjured city — that is, benefit for ourselves — that time has a limit. ... But once we have received the conjured city and we abandon it to walk toward the ultimate goal, benefiting sentient beings, time is no longer counted. When time is no longer counted, it is called immeasurable kalpas."

Do Not Rush to Criticize Those Who Falter

When we see someone give up along the way, we tend to blame them. But the master reminds us:

"For this person, the result was only supposed to come after fifteen years. But at ten years they grew discouraged and could not advance any further. The law of psychology therefore forces them to turn back — so do not condemn them."

Instead of criticizing, draw near to comfort and support them. Perhaps that person needs a "conjured city" in order to continue.

Practicing in Silence: Action Instead of Words

Labels do not matter. Action is the foundation. Like Purna, who was called a Shravaka, yet whose conduct was that of a bodhisattva. The master says:

"Labels are not important — it is the action itself that matters."

A person who remains silent when insulted is more powerful than a long dharma talk. And the fewer people who know of one's good deeds, the more enduring the blessings from merit:

"The fewer people who know of my good deeds, the better."

The Joy of Meditative Concentration Is a Precious Conjured City

Among all the "conjured cities" along the path, there is one worth savoring: the food of dharma joy and the food of meditative delight. As the sutra describes, beings in a Buddha's realm live on these two kinds of nourishment. The master encourages us:

"We must strive to practice until the mind is gathered and settled, and only then will we see that all along we thought wealth was happiness, status was happiness... it is truly the peace within meditative concentration that is the highest joy."

So, which desert are you in right now? If you are weary, please allow yourself to pause at a "conjured city" — a blessing, a small joy, a place to anchor your heart. But do not stay there forever. Rise and keep walking, for the path to the ultimate goal never ends. And true happiness lies not in what we receive for ourselves, but in what we give — forever.