Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

Confucius also said: "If you desire to reach a place
quickly, you will not attain it." Practice slowly, and
eventually you may reach even the highest goal.
3. What are the signs which might warn a person of
mental-physical breakdown due to wrong practice of
meditation or lack of proper preparation?
Warning signs that all is not well from one's practice are:
weariness, doing everything hurriedly, being
quick-tempered or easily excited, laughing to oneself,
talking to oneself, longing for signs of progress in
meditation, longing for such signs in dreams, having too
much desire to gain supernormal powers, and desiring
that others do not progress as much as oneself (even if
they are "brothers" in the same mandala and learning
under the same guru). All these are bad signs and arise
because of the sorrow of lust.
4. Why is it necessary to renounce? Please give a
clear guide on the different objects to be renounced
and the different levels of renunciation—material,
mental, and spiritual.
Renunciation? This is a very hard thing for a Western
person to do. Desires have so much increased, since
there are so many more objects of desire. Life has
become very complex and not only are there many
things to get, but so many things to do and places to see.
For these reasons it is hard these days to make a perfect
636