(27) Some believe all a practitioner of Buddhist Chan has to fulfill every day in executing his self-cultivation program include merely the following activities:

<1> doing sessions of Chan seated meditation, <2> chanting name of the Buddha and recalling the Buddha’s virtues and meritorious deeds, and <3> reading Buddhist Scriptures.

But these activities do not encompass the whole gamut of a Chan practitioner’s daily task, because the three items specified above are only accessories to the completion of a practitioner’s self-cultivation program. The principal part of his self-cultivation program should be his exertion to strictly observe the precepts so that he can bear out the truth revealed by the adage registered in the Buddhist Canon that “all precepts are didactic in nature”. A prevalent misunderstanding is that the purpose harbored by a practitioner in “first learning and then fostering a faith in Buddhism” is seeking attainment of Buddhahood. Such a misunderstanding actually arises from a delusion. Attainment of Buddhahood is not necessarily the outcome of the process of “first learning and then fostering a faith in Buddhism”. In other words, the process of “first learning and then fostering a faith in Buddhism” does not necessarily lead to attainment of Buddhahood. Among other things, attainment of Buddhahood necessitates both the favorable “karmic index” of the practitioner involved and the emergence of an opportune moment for the advent of an awakening. The decent purpose a practitioner should harbor in his effort to pursue self-cultivation is securing his own peace of mind and unburdened mentality. If his self-cultivation can result in attainment of Buddhahood, that is fine. But his principal purpose in carrying on his self-cultivation should not exclusively be seeking attainment of Buddhahood. Otherwise he would not be able to elicit the maximal benefit from practicing Chan self-cultivation.(From My Heart My Buddha)