If daytime practice feels scattered, meditate. If lazy about reading, read anyway. Prescribe according to the ailment.
"If daytime practice feels scattered, meditate; if lazy about reading, read anyway."
Lu Cheng was staying at the Honglu Temple and asked: "In my own study, I do not know how to apply effort."
The Master said: "In studying, there must be a foundation, and effort must be applied at the foundation. If daytime practice feels scattered, meditate. If you feel lazy about reading, then read. This is prescribing medicine according to the ailment."
Lu Cheng was staying at the Honglu Temple and asked: "In my own study, I do not know how to apply effort."
The Master said: "In studying, there must be a foundation, and effort must be applied at the foundation. If daytime practice feels scattered, meditate. If you feel lazy about reading, then read. This is prescribing medicine according to the ailment."
Before starting any self-improvement practice, diagnose yourself honestly. Are you restless? Try meditation. Are you lazy? Try reading. Are you anxious? Try exercise. Yangming's "prescribe according to the ailment" is thethe earliest personalized wellness approach.
"Prescribing medicine according to the ailment."
Yangming rejects one-size-fits-all approaches to cultivation. Different temperaments and different states of mind require different remedies. Scattered mind needs calming (meditation); lazy mind needs stimulation (reading). This is pragmatic wisdom, not rigid dogma.