Essay 159: Fail to distinguish what is important and not important

Concerning the Buddha-Dharma, most people fail to distinguish what is important (weighty) and not important (light). Why do I say this? Because you keep going around with your mind whether or not you have attained shinjin. This troubled mind is still the same old self spinning around, since you place the emphasis of "How? How?" on yourself without paying attention to the Buddha’s Primal Vow of "Should [you] not be born there," which is the virtue-power of Namo Amida Butsu, the Great Enlightenment of the twofold benefit.

Not paying attention is the proof of your contempt.

Not paying attention to what should be, attending to trifles, and neglecting the essentials －this means that you fail to distinguish what is important and not important.

Zuiken (An extract)