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Although pain and pleasure are an inevitable part of human life, suffering and happiness are entirely optional.
The choice is ours.
Another factor that affects your progress is the problem of compartmentalization. We have a common tendency to separate meditation practice from the rest of our life. If the skills and insights we learn on the cushion don’t infuse our daily life, progress will be quite slow. It’s like filling a leaky bucket.
Retreats are certainly wonderful and can help bring your practice to a whole new level. Yet, we can only experience the full benefits if the wisdom we acquire permeates every facet of our life, and that takes work. Otherwise, long retreats are like filling an even bigger leaky bucket.
The most important factor for improving quickly is a clear understanding of each Stage. That means recognizing the mental faculties you need to cultivate, as well as the correct methods to overcome specific obstacles.
It’s especially important not to be deceived by mere intellectual understanding. You may think you “got it” just by reading this description. However, many philosophers and scientists have understood this truth intellectually, but it hasn’t transformed them. We haven’t gotten it until this Insight completely transforms the way we perceive the world—especially during challenging times, like when we’re in an argument with our boss or partner, in a traffic jam, or when our house burns down.
The illusion of separate Selfhood, with all its attendant suffering, is gone. We can be fully present as persons, here and now, realizing that this “personhood” is just an ever-changing, Self-less construct arbitrarily imposed on an interconnected whole; “here” is merely another construct imposed on infinite space, and “now” is a similar construct imposed on eternity.
