The Most Important in Practice is whether Or Not One Has Been Awakened

By Chan Master Wujie Miaotien
Translated by Zen Meditation 
If practices all lead to liberation and comfort, thus is to practice with wisdom. Modern people particular need to focus on practicing with wisdom because past and current age are rather different. There is too much pull force from the material world and many conditional changes, which carry all sort of pollutions and if we are not careful enough, our heart will be bound and be polluted. So we have to be especially aware of such a condition.

In practice, first, we should be awakened. First, ask yourself if you are awakened already. Why do you practice? If you come and practice because you are truly aware, you will never stop practicing as you have got what it needs: the correct dharma.

If you haven’t known why and you come because of others’ recommendation, maybe one day when you encounter misfortunes, you will think: I am practicing and why is there still such trouble? In fact, this is because you haven’t practiced till the state of enlightenment and therefore, are not relieved from burdens. Such is the cycle of cause and effect and the manifestation of karmic force.

Even though through practicing, a lot of karmic force can be canceled, one needs to be awakened. How? It is to know why we practice.

The reasons for every individual to practice can be quite different. Some come because of ill-health, and wish to be healed through practice or wish better health. Of course, practice can aid the mal-healthed to obtain health; however, this is not the ultimate goal. One should know to practice is to obtain more supra wisdom. One should never think practicing is being superstitious. Of course, a lot of religions are superstitious and that is not practice. they belong to local customs.