No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering

The hardest thing to practice is not allowing yourself to be overwhelmed by despair. When you’re overwhelmed by despair, all you can see is suffering everywhere you look. You feel as if the worst thing is happening to you. But we must remember that suffering is a kind of mud that we need in order to generate joy and happiness

roots of anger can be found in my wrong perceptions and lack of understanding of the suffering in myself and in the other person.

that true happiness is not possible without understanding and compassion; and that running after wealth, fame, power, and sensual pleasures can bring much suffering and despair.

The body is an important object of meditation. It contains the cosmos, the Kingdom of God, the Pure Land of the Buddha, and our ancestors both spiritual and genetic

“I am here for you” also means that I am here for myself. The mind goes home to the body and we become aware that we have a body.

When you bring your mind home to your body, you’re established in the present moment, and you become aware of the many wonders of life that are there, in and around you.

We consume our environment as a kind of food, and its good or harmful elements seep into us

When you are truly there, you can go to the person you love, look into her eyes and say to her, “I am here for you.” The most precious thing you can offer the person you love is your presence. It’s not something you can buy in the supermarket.

We’ve seen that our suffering is connected with the suffering of our ancestors, our loved ones, and with the planet itself, so we know our happiness is not an individual matter. If we are able to breathe happily, we can invite our ancestors to enjoy breathing in with our lungs. If we are able to enjoy walking, we can invite our ancestors to walk with our feet.

I suggest you take a piece of a paper and write down all the conditions for happiness available to you right now. One page may not be enough. Two pages may not be enough. Three or four pages may not be enough. When we recognize all these elements, it’s so easy to generate happiness.