How to Develop Good Habits in Spiritual Cultivation

It is highly worthwhile to invest a certain amount of time and effort into cultivating good habits. This is analogous to expending time, effort, and cost to create molds for mass production. This initial stage demands dedication and time. However, once the molds are perfected, subsequent production saves immense time and cost, achieving twice the result with half the effort—at the very least saving fourfold to countless times the time and cost. This makes the initial investment profoundly valuable. The stage of habit formation is arduous, marked by successes and setbacks, advances and retreats, making perseverance difficult. During this period, having someone to provide encouragement or finding companions to mutually support and hold each other accountable makes the process more manageable. Identifying which good habits need cultivation requires each individual to make deliberate choices based on their personal circumstances. The aim is to transform secular habits that are not in accord with the Dharma and spiritual practice, thereby fostering the wholesome habits of a spiritual practitioner. 

Mindfulness of breathing is the initial point of entry and a highly effective method for cultivating awareness, right knowledge, and right mindfulness. It develops a subtle and meticulous power of observation and introspection, effectively countering unwholesome secular habits. Examine the changes in your mental states during daily life: Has your attitude towards people, events, objects, and principles shifted? Are your thoughts somewhat purer? Has the grasping towards form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental objects diminished? When encountering unsatisfactory circumstances, are you more able to accept them with equanimity? Are you less critical? Have interpersonal relationships improved, showing more affinity? Is your nature somewhat kinder? Is your mental state somewhat more peaceful? Do you engage in unwholesome thoughts less frequently? Have you become somewhat more magnanimous? If, upon self-examination, you find you have indeed made such positive changes, it indicates your practice is on the right path. The practice of the four foundations of mindfulness is demonstrably effective. Continuously examine your mental conduct from all angles, summarize your observations promptly, recognize the wholesome and the unwholesome, maintain and consolidate beneficial results, improve unwholesome habits, and cultivate good habits. In this way, your roots of goodness and merit will accumulate and grow ever richer, while your precepts, concentration, and wisdom progressively increase.