Starting Spiritual Practice
If reading more makes me feel I know less, does that mean I am not progressing?
English translation draft · Based on the Chinese article. This is not a word-for-word translation approved by Master Shengyuan.
Feeling you know less as you read more does not necessarily mean the reading was wasted. Reading unfamiliar subjects reveals how much exists and exposes gaps in your understanding. Recognizing what you can learn next is itself a gain.
YOYO shared that at university, when considering a master’s degree and writing projects and papers, she needed to find more books. The more she read, the more she realized how little she had known. That was her experience as a student. I enjoy reading too: faith, deities and Buddhas, history, and fiction all offer opportunities to keep understanding and learning.
Reading enriches us and can also change our mood. Sometimes browsing a bookstore and looking through books we want to read gives us a little strength. There is no need to prove after every book how accomplished you have become. Willingness to continue encountering and understanding things is also progress.