Meditation is like growing a tree

Ajahn Chah (ajahnchah.org) via Ven. Sujato, Ellie Askew, Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

In meditation we have to constantly be turning our attention to the practice. It’s like planting a tree.

If we plant a tree in one place then after three days pull it up and replant it in a different spot then after a further three days pull it up and replant it in yet another place, it will die without producing any fruit.

Practicing meditation like this will not bear any fruit either.

This is something we have to understand for ourselves. Contemplate it. Try it out at home: Get a sapling and plant it in one spot, and every few days, go pull it up and replant it in a different spot. It will die without ever bearing any fruit.

Imagine doing a meditation retreat for seven days followed by seven months of unrestrained behavior, allowing the mind to become soiled, then going back for another short retreat, practicing strictly without talking and subsequently coming out and being unrestrained again.

As with the sapling meditation dies. None of the wholesome fruits are retained. The tree doesn’t grow. The meditation doesn’t grow. I say practicing this way doesn’t bear much fruit [and any fruit that might appear has no chance to ripen].