The Underlying Principle of Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Contemplating the profound meaning of "taking time leads to perfection," or what is its fundamental principle, its ultimate principle?

Blue Sky: This disciple's understanding is that reacting too hastily to a matter may lead to undesirable consequences. There are two reasons for this: first, severe emotionality may result in overly drastic actions; second, incomplete consideration can also affect the outcome of one's actions. Only by calming down, thinking slowly, and considering matters thoroughly and appropriately can a satisfactory result be achieved. The principle is that only when one is calm can the manas participate in deep analytical thinking about the event, enabling continuous thoughts, and allowing for a clear understanding of the causes and effects, the developmental context, and all relevant factors of the entire event. Furthermore, the manas will provide the mind consciousness with unexpected solutions based on its own experience and perspective. After such a process, correct choices can be made.  

Commentary: This reveals the process of wisdom arising from the manas; it is right thinking, expressed very well, quite excellent. If there is time to spare, doing things slowly may allow various conditions to become more complete, necessary circumstances might change, and the nature of the matter might alter. Handling it at that point will lead to a perfect, flawless resolution—this is the first point. The second point is that to achieve a perfect resolution, relying solely on the mind consciousness for thinking and handling is insufficient. The mind consciousness is relatively superficial and not ultimate. Only when the manas personally deliberates and devises strategies and methods can the matter be resolved ultimately perfectly, without further changes. However, the manas's deliberation on solutions takes more time; it requires a certain duration. Therefore, slowing down allows the manas to personally find a good method, leading to a perfect resolution. "Taking time leads to perfection" primarily allows the manas to perfect the matter.

Handling problems quickly makes it difficult to fully understand them; the root cause is hard to identify, leading to superficial and shallow solutions that result in an imperfect resolution. By pausing and taking time to clarify the entire sequence of events, understand the root causes, and address the problem from its source, the resolution becomes relatively complete. Only when the manas and mind consciousness slowly and gradually uncover the truth and deeply contemplate solutions can wisdom arise, enabling the problem to be correctly resolved according to principle, leading to a perfect solution.

Liu Shaoling: Over time, mobilizing the three transformative consciousnesses—attention, operation, and change—alters the situation, making it as desired and perfect. Casually thinking about it during the day and giving an answer reflects the superficial thinking of the mind consciousness. At night, while sitting in meditation, suspending the question in the heart, asking heaven about the matter, suddenly the heart area vibrates, as if an electric current radiates to the limbs. After finishing meditation, one goes to sleep still carrying the question—this is the deep thinking of the manas. Upon waking in the morning, the answer to the problem is known automatically, without deliberate effort.

Commentary: When encountering matters, try to contemplate solutions while sitting in meditation at night. Only when the mind is calm can a perfect resolution be achieved. This line of thought is clear and discerning. If a matter is urgent and cannot wait until nighttime meditation for a calm resolution, strive to calm down as much as possible and focus on thinking. Then the contemplation will be deeper and more thorough, enabling the emergence of a good solution.

Ru Chun: "Taking time leads to perfection" encompasses slowness at two levels: mind consciousness and manas. First, when encountering a matter, do not rush, remain calm (this is the slowness of the mind consciousness). Only then can the mind consciousness maintain objectivity, rationality, and wisdom, enabling a comprehensive, clear, and thorough analysis of the matter's principles to be handed over to the manas. Only after receiving correct information can the manas engage in deep deliberation. Because its consideration is very comprehensive and detailed, it appears slow (this is the slowness of the manas). Additionally, the process from the mind consciousness's thinking to the manas's deliberation requires time, which is also part of the meaning of slowness. Although the manas's deliberation is slow, the answers it produces are comprehensive and perfect.

When I saw the question, I was communicating with someone about important matters. After seeing the topic, my mind kept wandering, thoughts drifting to the problem. By the time we finished communicating, the answer had surfaced. It feels like the manas is always working silently; the mind consciousness is often unaware. With some level of meditative concentration (dhyāna), the manas easily sticks to the problem for contemplation.

Commentary: This is the correct answer to the question, although not the most perfect, it is quite good. The imperfection lies in the fact that besides the manas and mind consciousness being able to calm the mind for deeper contemplation, the event they jointly face will also change over time, or various conditions may gradually reveal themselves, leading to more precise consideration and a more perfect, thorough resolution when responding.

The manifestation of having meditative concentration (dhyāna power) is the ability to simultaneously handle and resolve two or more matters. When encountering a problem, one can contemplate silently amidst actions of body, speech, and mind, without needing to wait until nighttime for dedicated meditative contemplation. Problems can be perfectly resolved anytime, anywhere. When a person's mind is calm and possesses meditative concentration, upon encountering any issue, there is no need for the mind consciousness to transmit information; the manas will silently deliberate without hindering the functioning of the six consciousnesses. The manas and the six consciousnesses each do their own work without interfering with each other, often achieving high efficiency. This is the benefit of meditative concentration (dhyāna).