...there are two important points. One: practice or work, is moment to moment; and two: practice (work) is for a lifetime.
The first point, that practice is moment to moment, is literally that. I had heard this many times- perhaps for a few decades— until I truly understood it non-intellectually. Every moment, each encounter, each experience is a moment that I am either more present or less present. Each moment is an opportunity to come back to my self. Each moment, however difficult or distressing to me, is a possibility to see more clearly the fabric of myself, the fabric of Reality. It is also a moment to see how uninterested I am in being present, in being in front of the given situation.
The second point is, practice is for a lifetime. This is also literally true. There is no end to practice. There is no— “I’ve got it, and now I will ascend into: calmness, greatness, wisdom, etc. forevermore.” (This false notion is based on control, which is from fear, which stems from a belief in an “I,” or separateness.)
Believe me, I thought awakening/insight/enlightenment would mean an end to struggle, and a good amount of bliss. While awakening or insight does lead to great joy, it is important to remember the Buddha’s teaching, which is— everything is impermanent. That means my insight is also impermanent, and my understanding that came from any insight is impermanent. Of course, things do change… but nothing is fixed or stable. And that is why practice is forever. If we are interested in knowing ourselves and Reality, there is no end to work, simply because there is no end to this vastness.
This is not meant to discourage anyone! Because instead of framing life as “I need to get this/be this,” we can understand life as a great flow, a beautiful fabric that is forever shifting. We don’t need to have a goal that is fixed, rather we have a way that is consistent: just practice. Just keep doing the work out of a deep curiosity that results from the only real question: “Kore nan zo?” or “What is THIS?” Seeing that it is endless also takes away the idea that “I” have to fix/solve everything. It is personal in that this search is through this being, but it is impersonal in that it is forever and ongoing, and it is moving through this thing I call “myself."
So I remember: I can be with myself, either more or less, in each moment and ask, what is this? Who am I in this moment? What is unfolding within me? And when with another— what is this, occurring right now between us? I can also see that I am most often not interested— this too can bring me back to the present moment.
When we see practice in this way there is liberation.
Thank you Sensei!