When the karma has come, there is no use doing anything to make up
for it. If it has not yet come, then you don't have to force yourself.
For example, my clothes, they are very soft. Should they be caught by
the thorns of a rose, could I take them away immediately? They would
be torn. I have to disentangle them slowly and carefully; in that way,
I can protect both the rose and my clothes.
When the time comes we take all of them out. Everything will be fine,
after we have taken the last thorn out. There's no need to pull so
fiercely. Both would be destroyed, the rose and my clothes.
So, practice can't be too extreme. We pass through many stages in
life. We should do certain things at certain stages. Since we cannot
avoid it, it's useless to force ourselves in order to avoid it.