As I said earlier, if you are a beginning practitioner, it is difficult to practice and have children. It would take an enormous amount of power, energy, time and effort to put your mind together and concentrate. But, even being married without children might give you problems. You might create your own interference and obstacles. In this case, it would be better to live the life of a monk or nun, or at least that of a single person.
From a Ch'an point of view, I must stress again that practice is not just sitting meditation. All aspects of life should be part of practice.
STUDENT:
When I was single, my practice was erratic at best. Now I'm married, and I practice every day. In my case, marriage helped my practice.
SHIH-FU:
It's not that getting married helped you in the practice, but rather it's your change of attitude. As a single person, you might have had many different interests, and probably did not know how to spend your time properly. Now that you are married, you are mentally prepared to settle down, and as a consequence you can channel your energy better.
STUDENT:
You say that meditation is not the only aspect of practice, but if one wants to attain deeper levels of practice, then meditation is important. In this sense, can marriage and children have an adverse affect on one's practice, and would it prevent one from becoming a master?
SHIH-FU: