The Importance of Taking Action

By Xi Gu

(Clearwisdom.net) "The distance is short, yet one has to walk it! The matter is small, yet one has to take action!" These expressions were taken from Xunzi-Cultivate Oneself. The meanings for the latter expressions are very simple: "One has to take the first step, or one will not reach the destination. One has to take action, or even the smallest job hangs in limbo. One must take concrete action in order to reach a goal and talk is cheap."

Traditional morality blends theory into practice. One can only reach one's goal by applying what one has learned. Only when one has fervently followed moral principles can one meet the moral standard. The truth is, many people have great ambitions. However, when they don't plan and strategize well, and maintain a steady pace forward, nothing is accomplished. Some people may not even be exceptionally smart, but once they come up with a good idea, they make plans and take action and then they go forward one step at a time. When they work diligently, they will achieve great things.

Peng Duanshu, a writer who lived during the Qing Dynasty said, "Things can be either difficult or easy. If one perseveres, difficult undertakings become easy. If one refrains from accomplishing the task, an easy task becomes difficult. These expressions can be applied to learning. If one studies, difficult subjects become easy. If one refrains from studying, even easy subjects become difficult."

There were two monks who lived in a remote area of Sichuan Province. One was rich and the other was poor.

One day, the poor monk told the rich monk "I want to go to the South China Sea. What do you think?"

The rich monk responded, "What are you going to take with you?"

The poor monk answered, "All I need is a bottle and a bowl."

The rich monk replied, "For many years, I wanted to buy a boat and cross the sea, but I could not bring myself to do it. Now, you are telling me that you want to go on this journey with just a bottle and a bowl?" The poor monk undertook the trip.

The following year, the poor monk came back from the South China Sea and told the rich monk about his journey. The rich monk was very embarrassed.

There are thousands of miles between Sichuan and the South China Sea. Yet, the rich monk was unable to make this journey while the poor monk undertook the entire journey to the South China Sea and back.

Is it the case that we are procrastinating and unable to set out to fulfill our aspirations, just like the rich monk in Sichuan? Looking at it from another angle, it has to do with whether we are persistent or not. Some people think that they are smart, so they don't study and in the progress defeat themselves. It is not a matter of stupidity, but whether we limit ourselves in what we want to accomplish. If we strive forward resolutely and study continuously, we will succeed.

The story of the two monks delineates clearly that the difference between something being difficult or easy depends on the stance of the individual, subjective or objective. It also points out that something being difficult or easy is relative and can be either or, i.e., fall into either category. The prerequisite is that people have to make an effort, be persistent and persevere.

The poor monk carried with him only a bottle and a bowl on his long journey. Can you imagine, how difficult that journey was? However, the poor monk had high aspirations, was strong-willed and never wavered. He was determined to make the journey, had a strong belief in his ability to persevere, and overcame all obstacles. Therefore, he succeeded.

His success was based on two words: daring and doing. Daring represents his firm belief. In other words, he had righteous thoughts and held no fear. Doing tells us that he put his ideas into action. And that is also an aspect of diligence. The rich monk had planned for years and waited for the right time, the right opportunity and the right circumstance. However, he procrastinated and dragged his feet. Therefore, he failed. We truly can make things happen. Often when we wait for the right time, we miss the opportunity. We need to learn from the poor monk and overcome our difficulties, so we can move forward.

In 1984, during the international marathon competition, one short Japanese runner won the race unexpectedly. Two years later, he won the same competition in Italy. When a reporter interviewed him about his winning streak, he was very short in his response, "I beat the other competitors with wisdom." Ten years later, he wrote in his autobiography, "Before every competition, I drove around and observed the route carefully and noted all landmarks. For example, the first destination was a bank, the second a big tree, the third a red building, and so on. When the race began, I ran toward my first destination as fast as I could. After that I tried to do the same toward my second destination. The entire route was broken down into many small sections and I ran the entire course in a relaxed manner.

In our daily life, many people throw in the towel about half way through the process of a given task. More often than not, this is not because they could not succeed, but because they did not have a clear idea as to their goal. If we have a clear idea of what we want to accomplish, take one step at a time, then success should not be too far ahead of us.

In my experience, I think that cultivation is built on the same principle. Once we understand the Fa principles, we have a goal. If we follow a good method and are diligent, we can elevate quickly. Some practitioners are very organized and they think over what they had done during the day before going to bed. They try to figure out what they are supposed to accomplish every day and then decide what they need to do the following day. When planning, they put the most important tasks on top of the list. Then, they carry out their plans in proper sequence and therefore things get done sooner than expected. Some other practitioners have neither plans nor goals for any particular day and therefore they are unable to accomplish all that comes their way during any given day. Many of them have not thought about seizing an opportunity when it presents itself. Therefore, nothing will be accomplished. Isn't it just like the proverb, "A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush," or "Where there is a will there is a way!" What these proverbs tell us is that if we can be diligent today, we can have a better tomorrow.

These proverbs tell us clearly that "Only actions can bring results and only solid cultivation can lead us to consummation."

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/9/4/162061.html

 Yearly Archive   Printer Version