Starting Spiritual Practice
What can I do when I keep wanting perfection but cannot achieve it?
English translation draft · Based on the Chinese article. This is not a word-for-word translation approved by Master Shengyuan.
In wanting to do something well, first distinguish what can still improve from what current conditions truly do not allow. Find a balance you can accept that lets the work continue. Wanting to do well need not become demanding perfection in every respect right now.
When recording programmes, I also cared greatly about sound and wanted no mouth noises or interference. We changed equipment and microphones and even tried different cables. Later, investigating software compatibility and settings made recording smoother. A method that works well for someone else may not suit your particular problem. Understand where the obstacle actually lies.
But even after upgrading equipment, the space remained unlike a professional studio. The walls, floor and environment had conditions we could not yet achieve. I eventually accepted that and stopped demanding professional studio standards, allowing daily sharing to continue. This did not mean improving nothing. After making improvements, acknowledging current limits helped us find an approach that worked more smoothly and that I could accept.
Sometimes we are stuck because, before even beginning, we keep waiting to be fully prepared. When entering work as a divination teacher, I also acted first and discovered through actually doing it how much I knew. Like study requiring a test, without trying we may not know what we still cannot do.
So many things can be learned while doing them. Correct problems as they appear, bringing the next attempt closer to your expectations. Waiting until there are no flaws may prevent the first step forever. Starting gives real experience that can be examined and adjusted.