Enlightenment is best attained steadily and securely, letting things come to fruition naturally like water flowing into a channel.

Before enlightenment, it is best to dissolve as much karmic obstruction as possible, so that after awakening one is not crushed or swept away by karmic forces, rendering the awakening wasted. If merit is insufficient at the time of enlightenment, then once one awakens, karmic obstructions will quickly appear, and all kinds of demonic disturbances will arise. For those whose meditative concentration is also insufficient, they may be dragged down and regress, to the point of losing their resolve for the Path. Even if they do not regress in their aspiration for the Path, the upheavals in their physical body and in every aspect of their life can be tremendous, and the pressure they must bear is by no means small.

For enlightenment, it is best that it come about steadily and naturally, as when water flows and a channel is formed. If all the necessary conditions are not yet complete and merit is lacking, yet one anxiously seeks awakening and forces an awakening with great strain, demonic obstructions will come thick and fast, and ordinary people can hardly endure them. The most frightening thing is abandoning the Path under such immense pressure—who knows when one might return. In ordinary times, one should cultivate more merit, dissolve more karmic obstructions, repent more often, and enjoy less personal comfort. Only when the crucial moment arrives, supported by merit, or for those with great vows, supported by their vows, and protected by the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Dharma-protecting deities, can one make it through the ordeal.