Some Buddhist texts state that there are special days when the merit of a particular practice increases by 100,000 / 1,000,000 times. The question arises: what is the motivation to strain on other days?
Suppose that such a day falls only once a year. Then, even if you have practiced diligently all year except for this special day (364 days), then the accumulated merit will be negligible compared to the merit accumulated on a special day. Have you worked a whole year without holidays for a salary of 100,000 / 1,000,000 times less (per day), if for one special day you have an opportunity to earn about 300/3000 times more than in a year?
The motivator turns into a demotivator, eh?
Is the motivator a demotivator?
Re: Is the motivator a demotivator?
Such days are not only once a year. There are many days every month that are auspicious for various practices.Viach wrote: ↑Fri Jun 22, 2018 11:46 am Some Buddhist texts state that there are special days when the merit of a particular practice increases by 100,000 / 1,000,000 times. The question arises: what is the motivation to strain on other days?
Suppose that such a day falls only once a year. Then, even if you have practiced diligently all year except for this special day (364 days), then the accumulated merit will be negligible compared to the merit accumulated on a special day. Have you worked a whole year without holidays for a salary of 100,000 / 1,000,000 times less (per day), if for one special day you have an opportunity to earn about 300/3000 times more than in a year?
The motivator turns into a demotivator, eh?
In any case, there are methods of practice that generate gigantic amounts of merit, which you need because you are not yet a Buddha. So even assuming that the result is one millionth of what it is on a certain day, you cannot afford not to practice at all times.
Re: Is the motivator a demotivator?
Gods travel throught world on those moon days. They rejoice when they see that you practice. So, you give them merit as gift. You do more good. At least in Theravada.
May all beings be free from suffering and causes of suffering
Re: Is the motivator a demotivator?
It doesnt really matter if one has genuinely cultivated bodhicitta.Viach wrote: ↑Fri Jun 22, 2018 11:46 am Some Buddhist texts state that there are special days when the merit of a particular practice increases by 100,000 / 1,000,000 times. The question arises: what is the motivation to strain on other days?
Suppose that such a day falls only once a year. Then, even if you have practiced diligently all year except for this special day (364 days), then the accumulated merit will be negligible compared to the merit accumulated on a special day. Have you worked a whole year without holidays for a salary of 100,000 / 1,000,000 times less (per day), if for one special day you have an opportunity to earn about 300/3000 times more than in a year?
The motivator turns into a demotivator, eh?
If one has cultivated bodhicitta their merit is constantly increasing, even during sleep.
Source: Shantideva, Patrul, etc.
"All phenomena of samsara depend on the mind, so when the essence of mind is purified, samsara is purified. Since the phenomena of nirvana depend on the pristine consciousness of vidyā, because one remains in the immediacy of vidyā, buddhahood arises on its own. All critical points are summarized with those two." - Longchenpa
Re: Is the motivator a demotivator?
In some years, all of the conditions for an excellent harvest are present and the farmers get an abundant yield of crops and medicine from the earth. In other years, the conditions are not so optimized and you get less. Even if you don't know what your harvest is going to be like in a given year, you still till the ground and sow the seeds because whether you get more or you get less, you still need to eat every day and not just on special occasions.Viach wrote: ↑Fri Jun 22, 2018 11:46 am Some Buddhist texts state that there are special days when the merit of a particular practice increases by 100,000 / 1,000,000 times. The question arises: what is the motivation to strain on other days?
Suppose that such a day falls only once a year. Then, even if you have practiced diligently all year except for this special day (364 days), then the accumulated merit will be negligible compared to the merit accumulated on a special day. Have you worked a whole year without holidays for a salary of 100,000 / 1,000,000 times less (per day), if for one special day you have an opportunity to earn about 300/3000 times more than in a year?
The motivator turns into a demotivator, eh?
'When thoughts arise, recognise them clearly as your teacher'— Gampopa
'When alone, examine your mind, when among others, examine your speech'.— Atisha
'When alone, examine your mind, when among others, examine your speech'.— Atisha
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Re: Is the motivator a demotivator?
Whether an experience, situation, etc (dharma, in other words) is considered a source of motivation or demotivation, depends entirely on the habitual tendencies (sankhara) of the individual.
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE
"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE
"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
Re: Is the motivator a demotivator?
This.Josef wrote: ↑Sun Jun 24, 2018 6:53 pmIt doesnt really matter if one has genuinely cultivated bodhicitta.Viach wrote: ↑Fri Jun 22, 2018 11:46 am Some Buddhist texts state that there are special days when the merit of a particular practice increases by 100,000 / 1,000,000 times. The question arises: what is the motivation to strain on other days?
Suppose that such a day falls only once a year. Then, even if you have practiced diligently all year except for this special day (364 days), then the accumulated merit will be negligible compared to the merit accumulated on a special day. Have you worked a whole year without holidays for a salary of 100,000 / 1,000,000 times less (per day), if for one special day you have an opportunity to earn about 300/3000 times more than in a year?
The motivator turns into a demotivator, eh?
If one has cultivated bodhicitta their merit is constantly increasing, even during sleep.
Source: Shantideva, Patrul, etc.
“You don’t know it. You just know about it. That is not the same thing.”
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche to me.
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche to me.