When one doesn't wish to take any pains to investigate a matter then their inquiry is simply a matter of weak curiosity. On the other hand, when one takes great pains to search for something which is difficult to get at or to understand, in which their search is also filled with interest and eagerness, their search is an authentic search—and one sure to strike gold over time.
Regrettably, some who study Buddhism will take their curiosity only so far. They, of course, will make an effort but their effort doesn't involve the important effort of taking pains to search for the profound meaning of Buddhism. This condition probably arises from a natural weakness of the spirit: its own unwillingness to arouse itself from the narcotic-like influence of materialism, not to mention the pleasures of the body.
Unfortunately, those who take the study and investigation of Buddhism seriously can’t change those who pursue Buddhism up to the point where they have to take some pains, then stop. For my part, I judge that the ordinary world has these people under its spell who have already given too much of themselves to its powers—or better said in the poetry of Wordsworth:
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours....
Much depends, as we can see, on just how much we are entranced by the forces and events of the modern world such that, if a lot, we shall see little in Buddhism that would be of interest to us as compared to our most pressing, everyday needs. In other words, the curious seeker is not curious enough about Buddhism. The question then arises, why do we take the modern world so seriously—so seriously, that we almost fear to peek over its elaborate system of walls as if we might see a better, higher world?
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