Practice Makes Permanent

It is not true that practice makes perfect;  rather, practice makes permanent. A martial arts teacher shared this in a class years ago, and it has resonated with me ever since.

No matter how many hours we practice, if we use bad technique we will never improve, and will cause our skills to deteriorate:  indeed we will actually teach our bodies and spirits the wrong lesson.  This is an important addendum to the “10,000 hours to mastery” aphorism that Malcolm Gladwell articulated: it is not just the time we put in, it is the quality of the effort.

Enso is considered one of the most difficult forms of Japanese calligraphy, requiring many hours of careful practice.

I was reminded of this insight last week when I was on a six-day meditation retreat with the Hollow Bones Zen Order.  

It was intense and challenging.  The first morning of the retreat we sat in motionless zazen (seated meditation) for over three hours, breaking every thirty minutes for brief walking meditation and Qi Gong, energy cultivation exercises.  

When sitting for so long, it is easy to space out, drift into fantasy, or just plain fall asleep.  But while there is likely some benefit in simply sitting still and being quiet, the purpose of the exercise is to consciously meditate, not just daydream!  

Meditation means bringing full awareness and connection to the present moment by following the breath, feeling the sensations of the body, noticing the thoughts that come up, and then gently acknowledging them and letting them go.  To practice meditation is to refuse to run away,  to practice staying present, no matter what, with discomfort, distraction, boredom and many other sensations, both pleasant and unpleasant.

When I sit, I am able to explore my resistance to the present moment and the way things are.  I become aware of my ever present desire to check out, get a cookie, drink a coffee, check my phone, or engage in the myriad other behaviors that occupy so many of my waking moments.  

By learning how to show up in my life with full attention and presence, I am taking responsibility for my power to choose my experience.  

In short, I am learning how to live as a grown-ass man:  to live in integrity, to be radically accountable for my thoughts, words, and deeds, and to truly exercise free will.  No longer must I be triggered by some slight or insult, or take personally a circumstance that in fact had very little to do with me.  With attention and awareness, I am able to instead choose to respond constructively to challenges, rather than react negatively in a habitual or conditioned way.

Consider driving.  How many times in my life have I gotten angry when another driver cut me off, didn’t wait their turn at the four-way, drove too fast, or just did something stupid.  When this happens I have often found myself cursing the driver and judging them to be unconscionably stupid and inadequate.  I am embarrassed to admit that I have even resorted to stereotypes, smiling cynically “ah yes, an elderly woman driver... Figures!”

When I react in this way, I am practicing intolerance and judgment.  I am practicing making up negative stories about the world:  that people are stupid, people are assholes, people are ________!!!  In doing so, I am practicing separation, and creating a distance between myself and humanity, creating a lonely fortress of solitude.

Of course, what I really want is to be connected to people, and to live in loving community.  I want to see my fellow humans as well meaning and competent brothers and sisters doing their best, even if they sometimes make mistakes in driving (as surely I do too!)

I define discipline as remembering what I want, and in order to get what I want, I practice.   But in order for my practice to establish a positive and skilled ability, I must practice well, which means with clarity, awareness, intention, and compassion, both for myself and others.

It behooves us all to take a close look at the ways we practice in our lives:  the ways we create a permanent and abiding state of mind and spirit.

We may ask:  Is our practice truly serving our interests?  Is our practice helping us to get what we want?  Is our practice in line with our discipline and integrity?  Is our practice helping us to be happy and grateful? Is our practice part of the problem or part of the solution?  

To paraphrase Mohandas Gandhi, in order to be the change we wish to see in the world, we must first create the practice which creates that change.

Practice does not make perfect.  Practice makes permanent.