Does going with the natural course mean no longer making an effort?

No. Going with the natural course still requires the effort you should make, seriousness, and responsibility for yourself. Saying you will let things happen naturally cannot mean abandoning everything you ought to do.

I have compared it to walking with the wind. When the wind blows forward, sometimes you can move in that direction rather than meet everything head-on. But as you move with it, you still need to attend to your thoughts, understanding, and actions. Do the practice you need to do, work hard where effort is required, and fulfill your own part before seeing how conditions unfold.

For example, I wanted to improve my abilities so that I would have more strength to help clients and friends. I had actually considered retreat long before, but kept using busyness as a reason to delay. Later, at Sanqing Temple, I received a reminder through faith that I still needed to undertake retreat, and I really did it. To me, this too was following the course: once you know what needs doing, act rather than remain indefinitely at the stage of thinking.

Looking back on my path, moving with circumstances did not make everything smooth from the outset. In my early work and relationships, I still faced many difficulties. Later improvements also related to becoming more focused and putting my energy into what I should do and work toward. Only after living through those experiences and looking back did I better understand what I had learned. So even when following the course, there are still lessons to learn and face along the way.