won buddhism

6. The Founding Master said, "If you continue to progress in your practice just as you did when you first aroused the aspiration to follow me, no one will be unsuccessful. However, in cases where one is trying to rise from the lower spiritual level to middle spiritual level, or starts from the middle spiritual level but is unable to overcome the threshold, then one will be afflicted by different kinds of crises and one will most likely fail to reach a higher spiritual level.
Thus, you must work especially hard to get over this perilous hill of the middle level. The first symptom of the middle spiritual level starts, with becoming bored with spiritual practice. The symptom of this disease is finding all things to be troublesome and tedious so that one’s thoughts and words are sometimes inferior even to those of secular people, and sometimes one’s way of thinking and speaking will become inferior even to worldly people. Second, a person becomes neither thoroughly enlightened nor entirely unenlightened. As people compliment one’s occasional speeches and writings, one thinks of oneself as standing above other people, and believes only in oneself.
One forgives one’s own faults, criticizes one’s masters recklessly, casts skeptical doubts on the dharma and the truth, and becomes obstinate about one’s own views. If one is not careful, these symptoms may even destroy all the merits one has been accumulating and ultimately may readily destroy the great enterprise involving an eternity of kalpas. Therefore the Buddha and the enlightened masters of the past warned about these symptoms of skeptical doubt and a lack of faith.
However, there are quite a few among you who have caught this disease. Hence, it would be good if you would reflect on this occurrence yourselves and free yourselves from that state; but if you don’t, you will not only destroy yourselves in the future but it will also become a major problem for the order.
Hence, you must make every effort to overcome this barrier. In order to overcome this crisis in the middle level of fundamental spiritual ability, give your minds to your master, reflect upon your original vows frequently, and think about the dangerous consequences of the middle spiritual level. Once you overcome this situation, you will speed toward Buddhahood as if flying in an airplane."

from The Scripture of the Founding Master, Chapter 15, v. 6

24. Song To‐Sung asked, "I often used to read the scriptures and had someone interpret them for me. At that time I simply learned the scriptures by heart and could not comprehend the true meaning of morality. But since I became your disciple, I have found myself gradually following the Truth formed in the scriptures even though they are described in just the same phrases and teachings as before I met you.
I ask you to explain this new understanding of the meanings of scriptures which I had already read." The Founding Master answered, saying; "An old scripture can be compared to a ready‐made dress which cannot be the right size for everyone. On the other hand, however, the learning method through direct explanation or through mind to mind may be compared to a dress made to order. It is needless to say that this learning method of cultivating our mind through dharma, suitable for the fundamental spiritual ability and situation of each person, is superior to the method of study which merely depends on unfolding scriptures."

from The Scripture of the Founding Master, Chapter 2, v. 24