No Substitute

Although I am struggling with the Surangama Sutra, a sentence within the translation I find quite pertinent in my own path is where Ananda (young cousin of the Buddha) says…"After I left home to follow the Buddha, I merely relied on his transcendental powers and always thought that I could dispense with practice since he would bestow samahi upon me.  I did not know that he could not be my substitute…I only realize now that, in spite of much listening to the Dharma, if I do not practise it I shall come to nothing as if I had not heard it, like a man who cannot satisfy his hunger by merely speaking of food".   I'm not sure if the Surangama Sutra, being a Mahayana Buddhist Sutra, will resonate with me.  But I will persevere through reading it all (I'm about 1/4 of the way through a first read).  I am reading a translation of the Digha Nikaya from Theravada Buddhism at the same time, which may mean more to me at this stage on my journey; it'll be interesting to compare my response to each.