“Think of the simplest thing you do, such as making a cup of tea. You know that in order to do something as easy and simple as making a cup of tea, you must acquire all the necessary conditions and ingredients. You need a source of heat and you need a source of water. You need a container in which to boil the water, you need tea leaves, and you need a cup to drink the tea in. If you do not have those things, you cannot make tea. When it comes to making tea, we take all of these things for granted. We think of it as a very simple process. Yet somehow when it comes to the practice of Dharma, we are unwilling to go through the process of accumulating what is necessary. 

Furthermore, when you make tea you have to know what your are doing. You have to know how to use the stove. If you do not know what you are doing, you are going to burn your house down. When it comes to practicing Dharma, you think that you do not need to know what you are doing; you do not need to know anything, and you do not need to study. This is incorrect.”

-MD Vol. 3 (The Dispelling of Impediments or Obstructions) 

It is important that we approach our practice in this simple and straight forward way, making sure to acquire and assemble all of the ingredients of a practice (physically and mentally) before attempting to accomplish it. If we expect fruition of a practice without doing any preliminaries to ensure our accomplishment, we will likely fail and discontinue, or worse, lose our faith altogether. Be diligent and disciplined with your routine, take things step by step. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice from those who embody the qualities you want to develop or achieve. This is crucial on our path towards awakening. 

May all beings be liberated.