"Desire is something known right at the mind. We’re like fishermen who go out to cast their nets. As soon as they catch a fish, they rush to pounce on it, which scares the fish away. The fishermen are afraid that the fish will escape from the net. When that’s the case, the fish are confused and hard to control, and so they quickly escape from the net.

This is why people in the past taught us to gradually feel our way along, to keep at it gradually and steadily. When you feel lazy, you do it. When you feel diligent, you do it. If you keep doing it a lot, then as soon as you find the quiet path, the mind will calm down. When you practice, you’re taught to keep at it. Don’t give up. When you feel diligent, you do it. When you feel lazy, you do it

—but you have to practice like a person spinning a fire stick. If you start and stop, start and stop and start again because you’re impatient, you won’t get anywhere—because of your impatience.

When you practice, you don’t need to think about a lot of things. Just survey right at yourself. You don’t have to survey anywhere else. If you see yourself, you see other people. It’s like aspirin and Tylenol: If you know one, you know the other, because they’re both meant to cure the same illness. They’re both painkillers.

People who practice and those who study like to criticize each other, but it’s like putting your hand palm-up and palm-down. When it’s palm-down, the palm hasn’t gone away anywhere. It’s right there, just that we don’t see it. If you study without practicing, you don’t see things for what they are—and that can make you deluded."