To practice, or not

Yesterday, I posted a quote from Nisargadatta Maharaj. He said: “There is nothing to practice. To know yourself, be yourself. Stop imagining yourself to be this or that. Just be. Let your true nature emerge. Don’t disturb your mind with seeking.” I indicated my agreement.

A Buddhist friend responded to my post. He said:

Why exactly? Is that Buddhist philosophy or teaching? Does that mean that even if you have bad character and you know that it is bad, you shouldn’t try to change ? I don’t understand this. Sorry, Ken. All men are not already made; they are becoming and becoming. Their thoughts, knowledge, experience and wisdom will predetermine his character. This is Buddhist philosophy.

This is an interesting response. It is also the response I expect from most traditional Buddhists. It is also what I expect from most religionists. Some explanation is in order.

First, there is a semantics issue here. When Nisargadatta said there is nothing to practice, what exactly did he mean? Did he mean that we should stop our Buddhist practice?

This is not what Nisargadatta meant. We should look at the entire paragraph. Not only did he say that there is nothing to practice. He also said that we should know ourselves, be ourselves, and stop imagining ourselves to be this or that. We should just be.