Overcoming Laziness: How to Improve on the Spiritual Path

Phakchok Rinpoche teaches us how to overcome laziness and lack of progress on the spiritual path. When he explains laziness, as an attachment, that may at first sound surprising. But if we examine closely, we can come to see how holding on to a feeling of having problems or being lazy is a form of attachment that can cause trouble.

What is the best way to improve? How do we stop being lazy, or overcome difficulties? When we make a big deal out of being lazy or if we dwell on obstacles that tend to feed the habit of having problems. We are giving things more weight than they deserve. That means we are really holding on to our problems, doesn’t it? Think about it—when we say we need to improve X or Y, we often are actually holding on to that as something solid. We are identifying with a problem. And that itself, that holding, means you won’t improve.

In an amusing example, Rinpoche reminds us that complaining about things doesn’t solve the problem. If we gain weight but don’t exercise, we can recognize that the two factors interconnect. Similarly, if we don’t practice, but say our minds are too busy—there just might be a connection!

Instead of complaining, the best way to improve and to heal is to accept things more calmly. Beating ourselves up over being lazy doesn’t really change much, does it? And, easy ways or short cuts don’t really bring many benefits—we actually have to put in some effort.

The spiritual path is just like exercising our physical body. We need to stop complaining—and just do some practice. Think carefully about how we solve our problems. And, we can avoid carrying our habitual tendencies from our mundane life to our spiritual path. Reflect, accept your problems, and just go ahead and gently begin your practice!