This Week's Words of Wisdom by Master Sheng Yen

In Buddhism we have analogies that describe diligence in practice. There is the diligence of the mother who always thinks about her child, even when she is away from the child. There is also the diligence of a hen sitting on an egg until it hatches. She won't say "Well, I'll just take a few days off, let the egg cool down, and I'll come back to it." Third is the diligence of a baby who wants to nurse continually. These analogies reflect the attitudes we should have: like the mother, we should be mindful of the practice; like the hen, we should persist in the practice; like the baby, we should hunger for practice. Whatever methods you practice, with these attitudes, you will have diligence, and you will cultivate virtuous roots.