Practicing Alone

Yutang Lin

Activities numerous plus fundraising frequent,
No leisure besides busily keeping up the front.
Overwhelmed and exhausted, suddenly awake;
Only solid practice in solitude would last long.

Comments:

Buddhist organizations are often preoccupied with numerous activities and fundraising to the extent that their members and followers are constantly rushing around. Recently some Buddhist friends, after years of ardent and devoted participation, awoke to the suffering of those internal politics and the pain of lack of leisure for Dharma practice. Consequently, they resigned from those organizations in order to concentrate on doing basic practices on their own. I suggested that they could view the previous services as part of the process of growing on the Buddhist path. Those experiences helped them to attain the deeper appreciation of Impermanence and Renunciation that they have now.

Written in Chinese on May 6, 2001
Translated on May 7, 2001
El Cerrito, California

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