and Sheng yen goes on to use another analogy that relates to practice in sesshin, or during a retreat. He says, In the past, people who had no plumbing used cesspools, during the summer, a thick layer of excrement would form at the top, and this would in effect contain the stench. In the winter, the cesspool would freeze over and still not stink, the foul smell would be released only in the spring, when the ice was broken, or the layer of excrement was penetrated. A retreat is like stirring up a cesspool at springtime. Yeah, so true. If you keep it sealed, the mess is still contained inside and the noxious vapors get worse. Thus, you need to churn it up again and again. expose it to the cleansing air of practice. So it is a good thing to discover one's defects and illusory thoughts during retreat. The more you know your deficiencies, the sounder your character can become to transform your disposition, from a turbid, to a clear and pure state. You must take your afflictions and transform them into compassion, and wisdom. The meilleur your afflictions become the sounder and healthier your mind will be and this will benefit others. Otherwise 10 Seven Day retreats won't do much good. To be really useful to yourself and others. You must take with you the mind of compassion. Or we can say the mind of love and the mind of wisdom to reduce of afflictions begin by reducing expectation, reducing seeking, reducing eagerness for success and gain. He then describes practice as like, balancing on a fine point. Effective Chan practice requires balancing on a fine point between relaxation and dullness. To practice for more than a few periods in succession, much less days without tiring. You need to be relaxed, both in mind and in body, otherwise physical and mental exhaustion will overtake you. On the other hand, while relaxing the body and mind, you must guard against dullness. If you can maintain this balance, the energy that is freed up can be channeled into the method and nourish your dedication to the way. After practicing one method for a long time, you may become bored and feel you're just spinning your wheels. It's like driving a car across the heartland of America. Hour after hour, the scenery seems the same. You aren't even aware how fast you're going. Then suddenly, you arrive. In the same way though, though, you may be practicing well. It may not seem like you're making any progress. If however, you generate the power to go on and on, if need be, suddenly, you will arrive. So do not give into boredom. It may actually be a sign you're practicing well. You know, it is true. If you're bored, it's likely that your thoughts have settled and it's your ego. You know that's just trying to latch on to something. But you don't have to pay attention to that. You can just settle into that boredom, boredom of the koan who is it that's bored