[shumozar]

"As we live in a modern world of instant gratification, we don't wait three years or often even three weeks. I know of people who ask to be a teacher's student one hour after meeting him/her. Easy come, easy go -- that is the style of much that passes for real spiritual activity these days. The real path is full of pitfalls, including the difficulty of knowing which teachers are real and reliable, and which just seem to be."

So, so true. I look at the people around me and everyone wants what they want, now and with no limitations. They don't think about the consequences, big or small. And one of the most serious consequences I see these days, is misunderstanding something, chasing after things that are not what you think they are.

In the past year I have come to realize that you need to understand what something truly is and how it will affect you. You need to recognize whether it is Mara or the Buddha; and that takes time and careful examination. You need to take the time and ask the difficult questions, not trust on first impression that things are how you think they are (or perhaps want them to be).