All Practitioners Will Experience Various Hardships.

Every Buddhist practitioner will experience various tribulations; this is inevitable. Contending with karmic forces accumulated over beginningless kalpas is extremely difficult—even bodhisattvas who return to this world are no exception, for adverse conditions abound. Practicing the Dharma is like rowing a boat against the current; it requires the courage to battle through great winds and waves, as well as tenacious perseverance. One must have the great vows of a bodhisattva in order not to be crushed down by the storms.

"When the Way rises one foot, the demon rises ten." As long as one has the aspiration to advance, one will inevitably face tribulations. Whenever there is evident progress in practice, karmic obstructions will surely manifest. One's resolve for the Path and one's courageous diligence are inconceivable, and the Buddha's power is equally inconceivable. As long as one generates a long-enduring, diligent mind, there will surely be the Buddha's protection, and demonic obstructions will be powerless against us. Believe in this, and you can overcome all difficulties.

"A person without long-term foresight will surely have imminent worries." As long as we look far ahead and focus on the future, the path beneath our feet becomes easier to tread, and the difficulties before us become easier to overcome.