Signs of Whether One's Practice Is Progressing

If improper thoughts arise in the mind, they should be concealed and, as much as possible, not spoken out; if words that should not be said—improper words—are brazenly blurted out, it shows that the afflictions in one's mind are extremely heavy and cannot be restrained, that there is a "self" within the mind that considers itself very important, believing others should submit to it and that everything must revolve around oneself. As one's practice steadily progresses, afflictions should gradually grow lighter, and those improper thoughts in the mind should no longer appear—only then has one's practice advanced. If this "self" in the mind is still very strong, it will be extremely difficult to eliminate the self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi).

Practice means constantly checking and introspecting upon that "self" in one's mind, to see whether it is diminishing and shrinking day by day and month by month; if it is still as inflated as before, irreversibly so, then one's practice has gained no traction and has not gotten on the right track. If eliminating the self-view feels very difficult, then seeing one's true mind will be even more difficult—after all, the merit and various conditions required for awakening to the true mind are higher, demanding a better disposition of a bodhisattva. For a person with a heavy mind of self, merit is not easily accumulated; a selfless mind accords with the tathāgatagarbha, and in the future one's practice of the bodhisattva path will advance very rapidly.