I have written several posts about the importance of discipline in one's practice. That among other things, without the discipline of daily practice, of that daily reminder and recommitment to your spiritual approach to life, you will most likely not have the spiritual armor you need to withstand the messages coming from your ego-mind and from the world around you every day.
It doesn't matter how many years you have been walking the path or how far you've come, your ego-mind is always waiting in the background to assert itself and sabotage your practice, causing you suffering. Your ego mind will always be part of you; there is nothing in the Buddha dharma that removes, or even has the intent of removing, the ego from one—it just provides a way to focus on your true self and not pay attention to the ego-mind.
That much said, one must also understand that one's daily practice—whether one calls it meditation or prayer or some combination of the two—is only as good as what you bring to it. There's a saying, "trash in, trash out," that can be applied to your meditation or prayer. If the components of your practice are not based on the Buddha dharma, if they seek a less demanding way to end your suffering, then I can pretty well guarantee that your practice, even if daily, will not be effective in ending your suffering, in freeing you from the control of your ego-mind.
I have attempted in my posts to share with you what the elements of a practice should be, to present you with a combination of elements that will result in your peace and happiness. My own understanding of those elements has changed somewhat over time and my often falling "off the wagon" in my practice. Each of those incidents has been an opportunity for me to learn what needs to change in my practice and for it to go deeper.
The challenge of freeing yourself from your ego-mind and thus ending your suffering cannot be over-estimated. It is only in the last year perhaps—after more than 30 years of daily practice—that I can report that I am generally at peace and happy 24/7 with only an occasional and brief assertion of my ego-mind. While my ego-mind was often still in control of me during those years and so I suffered—and made others suffer—with some regularity, I certainly benefited from my practice by experiencing much peace and happiness; I was no longer in constant turmoil.
The psyhological benefits of walking the path are great, even in the beginning when one's practice has not gone that deep. Do not get discouraged, keep your eye on the prize, and keep refining your practice—learn from your failings—so that your life walking the path is one of constant renewal, increasing your connection with your true Buddha nature, the diviity within you, the child of the Universe within you until you are one. At that point faith and mind will not be separate, not separate will be mind and faith, and you will be at peace and happy as never before.
It doesn't matter how many years you have been walking the path or how far you've come, your ego-mind is always waiting in the background to assert itself and sabotage your practice, causing you suffering. Your ego mind will always be part of you; there is nothing in the Buddha dharma that removes, or even has the intent of removing, the ego from one—it just provides a way to focus on your true self and not pay attention to the ego-mind.
That much said, one must also understand that one's daily practice—whether one calls it meditation or prayer or some combination of the two—is only as good as what you bring to it. There's a saying, "trash in, trash out," that can be applied to your meditation or prayer. If the components of your practice are not based on the Buddha dharma, if they seek a less demanding way to end your suffering, then I can pretty well guarantee that your practice, even if daily, will not be effective in ending your suffering, in freeing you from the control of your ego-mind.
I have attempted in my posts to share with you what the elements of a practice should be, to present you with a combination of elements that will result in your peace and happiness. My own understanding of those elements has changed somewhat over time and my often falling "off the wagon" in my practice. Each of those incidents has been an opportunity for me to learn what needs to change in my practice and for it to go deeper.
The challenge of freeing yourself from your ego-mind and thus ending your suffering cannot be over-estimated. It is only in the last year perhaps—after more than 30 years of daily practice—that I can report that I am generally at peace and happy 24/7 with only an occasional and brief assertion of my ego-mind. While my ego-mind was often still in control of me during those years and so I suffered—and made others suffer—with some regularity, I certainly benefited from my practice by experiencing much peace and happiness; I was no longer in constant turmoil.
The psyhological benefits of walking the path are great, even in the beginning when one's practice has not gone that deep. Do not get discouraged, keep your eye on the prize, and keep refining your practice—learn from your failings—so that your life walking the path is one of constant renewal, increasing your connection with your true Buddha nature, the diviity within you, the child of the Universe within you until you are one. At that point faith and mind will not be separate, not separate will be mind and faith, and you will be at peace and happy as never before.
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