How to Cultivate Good Habits in Spiritual Practice

It is very worthwhile to spend a certain amount of time and energy cultivating some good habits, just as, for mass production, one must spend time, energy, and cost to manufacture molds. At this stage, it takes painstaking effort and time, but once the molds are made, producing the products afterward saves an enormous amount of time and cost — the so-called "half the effort, twice the result" — saving at least four times, or even countless times, the time and cost, which is very worthwhile. The stage of cultivating habits is quite arduous, with successes and failures, advances and retreats, and it is not easy to persist. At such times, one needs someone nearby to supervise and encourage; being able to partner with others for mutual supervision makes things easier. As for which good habits need to be cultivated, each person must deliberately choose according to their own circumstances, so as to change worldly habits that do not accord with Dharma principles and practice, and develop the good habits of a practitioner of the Path. 

Observing the breath is the initial point of entry, and it is a rather good method for cultivating initial application and sustained examination (vitarka-vicāra) and right mindfulness. It can cultivate meticulous, subtle powers of awareness and introspection (pratyavekṣā-bala), and can effectively counteract unwholesome worldly habits. Examine what changes have occurred in your own mental processes in daily life, whether your attitude toward people, matters, objects, and principles has shifted, whether your thoughts have become purer, whether your grasping (upādāna) at form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas has lessened, whether you can now go along with conditions more easily when encountering unpleasant things, whether you have become less picky, whether your interpersonal relationships have improved and you have become more approachable, whether your disposition has become kinder, whether your state of mind has become more peaceful, whether you engage in bad scheming less often, and whether you have become more honest and kind-hearted. If, after such examination, you find that you have indeed made the various improvements mentioned above, it shows that your practice is on the right track and that the contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) of the four foundations of mindfulness is effective. You must continually examine your mental conduct from every aspect, make timely summaries, know what is wholesome and what is unwholesome, maintain and consolidate good results, improve unwholesome habits, and cultivate good habits. In this way, your roots of goodness and merit will accumulate ever more deeply, and your precepts, meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom will advance more and more.