Fabricated Vs. Real Practice
We often mistake fabricated dharma for real dharma or authentic practice.
Most of what we call practice—prostrations, mantra recitation, meditation—is often just a mental fabrication. We quote the Buddha or our lamas and practice based on their words, but because we don’t genuinely assimilate what is said, we feel compelled to ‘do something’ or ‘make something happen.’ If we had understood, we wouldn’t have to make anything up. It’s crucial to distinguish this from true dharma because, while these actions are virtuous—they plant positive habitual tendencies in our mind that may influence us indirectly over time—they do not directly transform our mind.
True Dharma is unmanufactured experience.
For example, some of you right now may feel impatient or irritated with me for not getting straight to the text we are supposed to cover, instead talking about seemingly trivial matters unrelated to dharma. Not only is that thought negative, but you are also missing the real practice right now. Simply accepting hardship or difficulty is itself a virtuous act. At the very least, it makes our mind more accommodating and resilient.
Another example is how compassion naturally wells up within us when we see someone suffering; it doesn’t need to be forced. Similarly, when we ourselves feel sick, we face that pain directly. These experiences are real for us, unlike trying to imagine the suffering of hell realms and so on. We are not merely pretending or ‘practising’; these authentic moments can impact our mind immediately and have the potential to transform us.
This is why the students of the Buddha’s time and many past masters achieved results from their practice. They engaged with reality itself and really practised.
It is the same for more advanced meditation. Our meditation cannot be a mere fabrication. You have all heard the term “unfabricated” or “simplicity.” It is just the way things are. There is no need to invent or create anything.
I think we should reflect on this and consider the direction our practice should take.
1st November 2025, Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal