Why We Practice
We don’t go on retreat — or practice daily meditation — to become good meditators. We do it to calm and quiet our minds so we can see how they work, how they lead us to more suffering, or to less, and in this way we train our minds to be able to see how to choose one over the other. We do this on the cushion so that when we get up and go about our business, we have more of a chance to suffer less.
First you perfect your instrument. Then you just play.
— Charlie Parker