Motivation for the Seeker

The spiritual path requires tremendous patience, courage, and perseverance. Without a stable and clear motivation, the seeker can easily become disoriented, discouraged, or lost in secondary aims. Understanding what truly motivates practice is essential for sustaining authentic progress.

Many begin with a desire to escape suffering, to resolve personal pain, or to find meaning amid confusion. These are natural and valid starting points. But as the path unfolds, motivation deepens. Superficial goals — power, experiences, recognition — are gradually revealed as unstable. The seeker begins to seek not escape, but truth itself, regardless of personal gain.

At the heart of stable motivation lies a longing for direct realisation: to see reality as it truly is, beyond concepts, hopes, or fears. This longing carries humility — a willingness to face discomfort, to relinquish cherished beliefs, and to endure uncertainty without grasping for premature answers.

Compassion also arises as a powerful motivator. The recognition that suffering is not unique to oneself, but universal, transforms personal striving into a wish for the welfare of all beings. The desire for liberation becomes inseparable from the desire to alleviate the suffering of others.

Ultimately, the purest motivation is simply the love of truth — a steady, quiet devotion to reality, however it appears. This orientation carries the practitioner through dry periods, dark nights, and profound joys, anchoring practice in what cannot be lost.

“Seek not what is pleasant, but what is true.”
— Contemplative Instruction