การนั่งต่อเนื่องยาวดีกว่าแบ่งเป็นช่วงสั้น ๆ เสมอ เพราะความละเอียดจะสะสมเพิ่มขึ้นเรื่อย ๆ โดยไม่ถอยหยาบ เปรียบเหมือนกองทัพฝ่ายกุศลที่ยังไม่ถอยทัพ จึงควรฝึกขยายเวลาให้นั่งได้นานขึ้นทีละขั้นSitting in one continuous stretch is always better than breaking it into short pieces, because refinement keeps accumulating without retreating into coarseness — like an army that hasn't withdrawn. Training should aim to steadily lengthen each sitting.
Someone asked on behalf of a member: if the goal is to sit six hours a day but one can't manage it in a single stretch, would it be better to accumulate it in chunks — one or two hours at a time added together to reach the daily target — versus sitting continuously, say three hours twice? What are the pros and cons?
Sitting continuously in one long stretch is always better, because refinement keeps building further and further. Once we stop, though, we retreat back into coarseness. As long as we're not sitting, some other system takes over the mind and coarsens it. Never mind — even the neutral vibrates differently from . To compare: the neutral is like a noisy, crowded market, while the wholesome is like a quiet, still place. The unwholesome, on the other hand, is like being in a war zone — explosions, gunfire, anguished cries, altogether terrifying.
When we stop, we retreat into coarseness, into confusion, like being back in that market. But when we return to practice, it's still easy and quick to clear, because the wholesome's strength hasn't gone anywhere — like an army that hasn't retreated or disbanded, simply waiting for the next round of battle. But if, on a given day, we sit for just one hour and quit, that's equivalent to a retreat — only the inner atmosphere shifts into a kind of ceasefire, where the opposing side may advance a little. Yet when the time comes to counterattack, it's still easy, because we never truly disbanded.
Every time, sitting two hours at a stretch is better than one hour at a time, and three hours is better than two — because the more continuous the sitting, the further refinement, , and liberation can advance. We must therefore learn to train ourselves to sit continuously for many hours, the way some monks cultivate absorption continuously across days and nights. The revered teacher himself once did this, deepening refinement inward without interruption.
There are two kinds of refinement: the automatic kind, where the wholesome side works continuously refining us day and night without our even noticing — this is ordinary, not especially difficult to develop — and the kind where we deliberately train ourselves to stay with it day and night together with the teacher; this is special and must be cultivated in life alongside the wholesome system and the Triple Gem, to bring refinement as far as possible. We must set a target and climb it step by step — from two hours to three, three to four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten — until eventually able to sit through day and night. Otherwise, sitting one hour and stopping leads nowhere.
As refinement deepens, the inner knower points to better methods, and the empowered one refines away obstacles and problems for us, so worldly tasks barely need our own effort — everything gets resolved. Worldly duties grow lighter and lighter. But addressing the root cause — refining from within directly — takes time to train, after which everything improves on its own: pure energy, refined treasure, access to the inner knower and the empowered one all increase, while the strength of the unwholesome and neutral diminishes. Without this practice, life stays hard; with it, life grows easier and more comfortable, and seeing the results builds confidence that we're on the right path.