Proficiency in the Dharma: Why Ten Years of Visiting the Temple May Still Leave You Without Knowing the Way?

Have you ever sat behind a friend on a motorbike for ten years, passing through hundreds of familiar streets, yet when you got off the bike, you still could not find your own way? This seemingly simple story is in fact a profound metaphor for the path of learning the Dharma.

In a dharma talk given in Hớn Quảng district, Bình Phước province, Venerable Thích Chân Quang skillfully used the image of a driver to illustrate the difference between one who merely understands the teachings and one who actually practices them.

Why does sitting behind the driver mean never learning the way?

The teacher recounted that he traveled to Hanoi for ten years without knowing the roads, because there was always someone else driving. But he knows the streets of Saigon very well, because in his youth he had to ride his motorbike everywhere by himself. Likewise, on the spiritual path, if we only listen to teachings, visit temples, and rely on others to guide us without practicing on our own, then even after ten years we still know nothing of the way.

"How many more years until you know the way? Only when you drive by yourself, right? Ah, when you drive yourself, you remember the road at once."

Listening to many teachings is not worth a little practice

Many people come to the temple to hear the teachings, even playing recorded dharma talks all night long, yet they practice very little. The Venerable emphasized that true value lies in practice, because practice is a hard-fought battle with ourselves. Only through practice do we gain wisdom that can actually be used in daily life.

"What is the real value? It is precisely practice. Because listening is very easy."

Three signs of one who practices correctly

The Venerable offered three fundamental signs that a person is practicing correctly:

Our mind/heart becomes more virtuous and more joyful.

Our life circumstances gradually become more comfortable and more fortunate.

Spiritual enlightenment begins to open — we begin to enter a different world.

In addition, our face becomes more beautiful, and our karmic grievances with other beings diminish. The teacher also mentioned that one can observe the way a person sleeps to discern their blessings from merit and karma, but the three signs above are the foundation.

"First, we see for ourselves that our mind/heart becomes more virtuous and more joyful. Second, our life circumstances gradually become more comfortable. And third, spiritual enlightenment begins to open."

Wisdom: from intellectual understanding to lived experience

There are three kinds of wisdom: wisdom from study, wisdom from practice, and wisdom from realization. Study is the foundation, but it is very shallow and cannot be relied upon when facing real challenges. Consider the story of a monk who accepted money to slander others, or the tale of the teacher who remembered a tiger because of a young woman passing by. Wisdom from practice allows us to see a moment of anger as it arises, as if watching a film in slow motion, and to conquer it.

"Wisdom gained from study alone cannot be used; when real situations arise, it fails us."

Battling ourselves is the path to proficiency

When we practice, we sometimes have to sacrifice a great deal to keep our virtue. The Venerable reminded us that only wisdom is the true life work of a disciple of the Buddha. To become proficient, we must practice every day: meditative concentration, bowing to the Buddha, repentance. Through this, we gain control over greed, hatred and delusion, the mind/heart becomes pure, and our face gradually transforms.

Do not remain forever sitting behind the driver, forever relying on others to guide you. Take hold of the reins of your own mind/heart, beginning with the smallest things: one recitation of the Buddha's name, one session of sitting meditation, one act of repentance. Only when you battle and overcome on your own can you truly become proficient on the path of the Dharma. May you all nurture your roots of goodness and soon open the flower of wisdom.