Jundo recently wrote this on another thread:
if someone is experiencing all life ups and downs and tears and disappointments and stresses and struggles ... and is not struggling with all that ... is at home to the marrow in this crazy life ... ... not struggling in the least with the fact that we all must struggle in life sometimes ... taking all conditions as they come ... up down smiles and tears, the whole catastrophe YIPPEE! ... that is Enlightenment, being wholly "at one" with life as it is, the "self's" demands and "should be's" on this life-world dropped away, all the walls to life knocked down.
So if we define struggles as a noun, the stuff life throws our way, the ups, downs, tears, etc. mentioned above,
And if we define stumbles as a verb, those times we veer off the Bodhisattva Path, violate the precepts, especially the gross violations,
Then is it fair to say that the more we practice the less likely we are to stumble when dealing with those struggles?

I'm thinking, Yes, because the act of struggling with life's ups and downs, etc. leads to the act of stumbling. But being at home with life's struggles would imply you are in balance and thus less likely to stumble. So by continuing to sit zazen, a pretty stable posture, you are less likely to stumble because you become at home (and in balance) with those struggles. Have I got that?

On a side note, years ago I had some friends in a band named Reckless Pedestrian. It has become the custom to name tours and then have t-shirts advertising that tour, so they gave me a t-shirt that says "Reckless Pedestrian" on the front and "The Stumble and Fall Tour" on the back :lol: I've always liked that shirt, but I had no idea how profound it might be some day 8)