Chapter 135

Piecemeal Effort Will Bear No Fruit

And what is the main thing? If you take on the work, then take it on in full, but piecemeal effort will yield nothing. When a pond is dammed — how is it done? You hurry to seal the opening at once. But if you put down a lump of earth and then abandon the work, the water will wash it away. Put down another lump and leave it — again the water washes it away. And so — endless labor, yet the pond is never built. Apply this to the soul. The flow of thoughts, like a river, swiftly flows from the head and heart. Suddenly you must block the passages — and not let them go. But if you hold them back a little and then release them — there will be no benefit. It is the same as building and tearing down. (3, 51)