The Use of Adversity

Human weaknesses, flaws, habits, faults, afflictions, and various attachments are not all actively changed by oneself; some are changed out of necessity because environmental conditions do not permit otherwise—that is, one has hit a wall. A thick wall appears ahead, signaling that this road is a dead end, please detour, and so one is compelled to turn or turn around, and thus a weakness is overcome, a flaw disappears, a habit or affliction vanishes, and an attachment dissolves.

The various dissatisfactions and adversities in life are like walls, preventing us from continuing to follow our ingrained perceptions and habits, so we take another path, and it often turns out that this new path is the better one. Therefore, adversity and setbacks are not enemies, and walls even less so—they are life's teachers, guiding us toward another road of light. For those with heavy afflictive habits who cannot restrain themselves, it is better to hit more walls, for only thus can there be an opportunity to awaken and turn. One who commits evil deeds should receive the retribution of evil as soon as the evil deed is done; only then can he understand that evil deeds must not be committed, and gradually he will rein in his evil thoughts. Reflect deeply in places of adversity, learn to turn, to shift your thinking and perceptions, and the opportunity for a change of fortune will soon appear.

If a person's whole life goes smoothly, he will forever remain what he originally was—troubled and afflicted, ignorant and deluded, fearless in his ignorance, transmigrating through birth and death without end. Only by hitting many walls, only when the old road is no longer passable, can one learn to adapt, only then can old attachments be changed and wisdom arise. So adversity is also good, and walls are also good. At certain times, a good person is an evil person, and a good thing is a bad thing; at other times, an evil person is a good person, and a bad thing is a good thing. This must be viewed dialectically, by looking at the results—especially the ultimate results in the future.

When, because your attachments are deep, you cannot let go of all dharmas of the world, if all the dharmas of the world were to actively leave you, leaving only the basic resources for living to be used for cultivation, that would mostly be something to be wished for and hardly obtained! Yet at the time of approaching the end of life, it is indeed the case that all dharmas leave oneself and vanish, yet we never see anyone's manas take this opportunity to sever the view of self and attachments, nor does anyone feel that any dharma is impermanent and unobtainable. Why is this? Under such circumstances, if someone tells you about the eighth consciousness, can you become enlightened?