The hardship of spiritual cultivation 修行的苦

Robot Monk Xian'er

The hardship of spiritual cultivation

We always want more. When we don’t have it,we want to obtain it. Once it is obtained, we want more. We are always picky about the surroundings, wishing that everything would go the way we like.Seldom do we bother to reflect on how we act and how we may do it better. Thus,not happy with the present moment, our mind wanders around. Not guided by the right view, we are restless and we suffer.

Life, which comes at the call of karma and is carried on passively, is not easy. Whatever we do we have to strive for it and endure the relevant hardship. Students have to work hard for their study;entrepreneurs have to work hard to start a business; farmers have to work hard in their field. It is the same with the practice of Dharma. We have to meet the challenges. Is there a thing that we can engage in with endless joy, ease and satisfaction? The answer may be yes, but only in our imaginations.

We mustn’t live for transient pleasure,which only brings us more and more pain. If we are not sure about the meaning of our perseverance, our body and mind would fight against each other,resulting in great pressure triggered by tiny bit of frustration. We need to decide on the meaning of our behaviors. Why are we doing what we are doing?Once this is sorted out, we set our mind at ease and work hard, ready to endure the possible hardships incurred. Joy will come when we don’t speculate on it for the present moment.

The world won’t go around the way we imagine. We have to be responsible for every decision we make for each event in real life. No matter we are caught in favorable or unfavorable conditions,instead of immersing ourselves in the mood of attachment or repulsion, we need to strive for the cultivation of our mind, to plant virtuous seeds, and to aspire upward.

修行的苦

人总是贪心不足。没有的时候想得到，得到了又想要更多；对外境挑剔，希望事事都顺心如意，却很少去想自己做得怎么样，如何做得更好。如此不能安住当下，心向外驰，没有正念主导自己的行为，自然痛苦不安。

人生在世，都是业力所感，被动生活，自然会辛苦。不管选择哪一条路，不管在什么环境下。求学有求学的不易，创业有创业的压力；农民有农民的艰辛，修行也有必须要承受的苦。做什么事可以永远轻松、快乐、顺心呢？往往只是站在远处想象别人的状态罢了。

人不能只为追求眼前的快乐活着，越是这样痛苦反而越多。因为没有搞清奋斗的意义，身心就会互相排斥，一点点小的挫折都可能带来很大的压力。人要找到行为的意义，也就是这样做是为了什么，然后安心地努力，接受这个过程可能产生的辛苦。不去想眼前要如何快乐，反而能够得到快乐。

世界不会按照我们的想象运行。在现实中，我们必须为自己所做的每一个决定、每一件事情负责。无论遇到顺心的事还是不如意的境界，都要努力地修心、种因、向上，而不是沉浸在贪恋顺境或排斥逆境的情绪中。