Q&A on the Contemplative Practice of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness 29

Question: I have a realization: when I sometimes feel tired and irritable, it is very easy for slackness to arise. I feel that I am not in the right state at all. How can I adjust this?

Answer: Everyone has a great deal of karmic obstruction. When obstructive conditions appear, practice inevitably becomes difficult, and slackness arises. The process of practice is one of advancing and retreating—sometimes diligent, sometimes slack. When karmic obstructions appear, irritable emotions arise; at such times one cannot concentrate and cannot be diligent, and so one slackens. When this situation occurs, you should intensify your recitation of the Śūraṅgama Mantra, using the power of the mantra to eliminate karmic obstructions, strengthen your resolve for the Path, and accelerate your practice. The power of the mantra is very great. Relying solely on your own strength, it is very difficult to achieve anything in practice; you must rely on the blessing power of all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Dharma-protecting deities to shield us from a portion of our karmic obstructions so that we are not disturbed. Only after some karmic obstructions have been removed can you continue to be diligent, and only then can you ultimately achieve something. Therefore, before seeing the Path, do not let your recitation of the Śūraṅgama Mantra be interrupted. Set yourself a fixed number of recitations and persist every day. The blessing power of the mantra is very great; once you become accustomed to it, you will experience unexpected effects, and you will change without even realizing it.