Today, I’m going to discuss spiritual practice—specifically, practising in hardship and practising in joy. Do you find cultivating your mind challenging? Does it bring you joy? What exactly do we mean by practising in hardship? And what does it mean to practise in joy? When I set strict expectations, it might seem tough at first, but ultimately, what you gain is true happiness and delight.
First, let me explain that, from the perspective of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, joy is ultimately empty. Why? Because all the happiness we experience is temporary and insubstantial. Take hosting a party, for example. As the hostess, you might feel incredibly happy—everyone brings gifts, offers congratulations, and showers you with praise. But after a few hours, the party ends, and you are left just as you were before. Where did that happiness go? Can you hold onto it? According to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, all happiness in this world is empty because it is fleeting.
Let’s consider another example: when you watch a movie, you feel happy. But once the movie ends, that happiness disappears, leaving you with the reality of life’s hardships. To the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, all such worldly joy is ultimately empty. The same applies to suffering. A person might endure hardships—being bullied, deceived, or struggling with a lack of money, fame, or health. Yet, according to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, all these sufferings are also empty because they are temporary. Will your suffering last your entire life? How long will it last? Perhaps, upon death, you might transcend all this, escaping the cycle of rebirth in the Six Realms.
Think about this: You’re 60 or 70 years old. You’ve endured many years of hardship, but do you still remember the pains you suffered when you were young? For example, if you broke your leg as a child, it was excruciating at the time, but can you still remember that pain? Can you still feel it? Of course not. This is why the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas see both joy and suffering in this world as empty.
What I’m teaching you today are basic Buddhist concepts to help you address problems in your daily life. I understand that when I speak about the realms of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, not everyone fully grasps it. That’s why I bring Buddhist teachings down to a more relatable level, so you can understand them and make progress. I’ve posted teachings on the Second-Ground and Third-Ground Bodhisattvas on my blog, but many readers have mentioned they find them difficult to understand. If you can truly grasp the essence of the Buddha’s teachings and let go of resentment in your heart, then you are essentially a Bodhisattva.
I’m teaching you about hardship and joy so that you can see them as equivalent — hardship can be joy, and joy can involve hardship. Why? Because when you’re extremely happy, there’s often some form of suffering that accompanies it. Do you see what I mean? You’ve all seen New Year’s Eve Gala shows, right? Have you noticed why the director always includes scenes of disasters, like floods or earthquakes, where people pay respects and observe a moment of silence? This balancing act prevents the show from being solely about happiness.
In this world, what is your happiness based on? Often, it’s built on a foundation of hardship. It’s through enduring suffering that you come to understand what happiness truly means. A person who has never known pain can’t fully appreciate joy. If a child is born into a life of luxury, never facing hardship, they may not recognise true happiness. Conversely, a person who has experienced poverty will feel immense joy when they finally attain financial security. So, what is the relationship between hardship and joy in this world? Many people believe they are very happy, while others feel they are deeply miserable. For example, when you travel, don’t you feel happy? Of course. But after sitting in a car or on a bus for five or six hours, don’t you also feel discomfort? You’re sore and achy all over—doesn’t that feel like suffering? Is there any hardship that doesn’t contain a trace of joy? Is there any joy that doesn’t include some element of hardship?
Spiritual practice is much the same. When you haven’t yet achieved your goals, it can feel very difficult. But once you succeed, you feel incredibly happy, right? When you’re reciting Buddhist scriptures, it might seem challenging, but when those sutras and mantras help resolve your problems and difficulties, don’t you feel a sense of happiness?
Before a person attains true enlightenment or finds genuine happiness in this world, they often differentiate between suffering and joy. But once you truly grasp the deeper principles of life, this distinction begins to fade. Earlier, I explained that enduring hardship is actually a form of happiness, and when you’re happy, it often means you’ve endured some hardship. There’s a saying: “In hardship, there is joy; the joy is boundless.” The more hardship you endure, the more you appreciate that happiness is not something to be taken for granted. Without experiencing bitterness, how would you understand the value of sweetness? If you don’t recite sutras today, where will your happiness come from? That’s why it’s essential to view your own suffering and joy correctly—this is a fundamental aspect of practising Buddhism.
Now, let me share a few more thoughts: Isn’t suffering something we should view as empty? This concept is known as “the emptiness of suffering,” which means that suffering is ultimately empty. Similarly, joy is also empty—this is referred to as “the emptiness of joy.” Both suffering and joy are empty. Life in this world is inherently empty, so what is there really to be happy or upset about? If all your suffering is empty, what is there to grumble about? The happiness you experience today is only temporary, so why cling to it? In Buddhism, both the emptiness of suffering and the emptiness of joy are understood as mere phenomena.
All worldly happiness is rooted in human desires. But what is happiness, really? It’s simply the fulfillment of your desires. You enjoy eating good food—that’s a craving, a desire for taste, also known as appetite or the desire for food. The five desires are wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep. When you have a lot of money, you feel happy—that’s the desire for wealth. When you don’t have enough money and feel unhappy, that’s also the desire for wealth. It’s all driven by desire. When you crave good food, that’s your appetite at work. Fame is another desire—you want to be a high-ranking official or a famous person—that’s the desire for fame. The desire for sex is driven by the attraction between men and women, and when this desire arises, you experience lust. Even sleep is driven by desire. Some people don’t care about money or fame—they just love to sleep. But even sleep is a desire, and it’s not good to be consumed by it. People who sleep all day, avoiding any activity, are driven by the desire for comfort and to keep their body and mind at ease. This desire leads to wasting precious time in this world. When you sleep excessively, you miss out on valuable time that could be spent performing meritorious deeds or helping and awakening others. Medical experts say that older adults only need 6 to 7 hours of sleep a night. If an elderly person sleeps all day, it’s called lethargy. What I’m teaching you now is Buddhism, so don’t mistake this for a lesson in medical science. Wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep—these are all human desires.
The happiness we experience in this world is also a form of desire. This kind of desire may be here today and gone tomorrow, bringing only fleeting happiness. These moments of happiness are worldly and, as such, are inherently temporary and limited in scope. This narrowness stems from a lack of understanding, a limited perspective, and a confined outlook. The saying “a frog at the bottom of a well” perfectly illustrates this idea. Imagine a frog living at the bottom of a well—when asked if it can see the sky, it replies, ‘Yes, the sky is just this small round hole.’ That’s the frog’s limited view. So, what have you gained from your study of Buddhism? You should learn to develop a vast, ocean-like mind and embrace the wisdom of the Buddha.
I often tell you to learn the wisdom of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, but many of you have yet to grasp their true essence. That’s why I use basic Buddhist principles to guide you, to help you truly understand. Otherwise, my words would be in vain.
First and foremost, those who practise Buddhism should reduce their attachment to worldly pleasures. This means sleeping less, eating fewer indulgent foods, and becoming less attached to romantic relationships—this is known as cultivating a pure heart with fewer desires. You should also be less concerned with fame and fortune; don’t chase after them. Having enough money to live on is sufficient. You must understand that wealth is a bottomless pit—no matter how much you have, you’ll always want more. The same goes for food: no matter how much you eat, you’ll always crave more. If you gain fame, you’ll seek even greater recognition. If you reach a high position, you’ll desire an even higher one. When will these desires ever stop? Today you may be content with one partner, but tomorrow you might be thinking about someone else. These desires are like a never-ending cycle of unhealthy expansion. That’s why the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas teach us that the first step in studying Buddhism is to control our worldly desires. By reducing these desires, you’ll start to experience a different kind of happiness—a deeper, inner joy.
So, what is this inner joy? It’s the happiness that arises from within. When you stop being greedy for external things, you’ll find contentment and peace in your heart, and you’ll feel truly happy. Whether or not you are chosen for a particular position, you’ll remain calm and secure—this is true happiness. Whether you have money or not, as long as you focus on cultivating your mind, you’ll be a truly happy practitioner of Buddhism. Remember, reducing your desires is incredibly important.
We need to cultivate a sense of inner joy. What does it mean to feel inner joy? When you nurture happiness in your heart, it influences everything—your body, your mind, and even the environment around you. True spirit comes from within, from the heart. Otherwise, it’s not truly spirit. When someone is genuinely happy, they smile from the heart. They feel content, at peace, free from attachments, and able to let go.
Even if you manage to let go of wealth, fame, and desires for food or lust, there’s still one thing many people struggle to release: sleep. Many people love to sleep, but too much sleep isn’t good for you. Do you understand? Oversleeping makes you groggy. If you don’t believe it, try staying in bed for five days straight. When you finally get up, you won’t know which way is north, south, east, or west—you might not even remember anything. This, too, is a form of suffering. Sleep is a desire, and like all other desires, it must be controlled. If all you want to do is sleep, when will you have time to recite Buddhist scriptures? When will you have time to awaken others? Remember, someone too attached to the five desires won’t have the right mindset to cultivate their minds. If you’re constantly chasing after these desires, how can you develop the proper mindset for cultivating your mind?
It’s important to remember self-discipline. What is self-discipline? It means holding yourself to high standards. Many people believe they haven’t done anything wrong in this world, and that may be true—they are, after all, only human. But my goal is to help you become Bodhisattvas. The standards you set for yourself aren’t high enough; you need to work harder to accumulate merits and virtues. For instance, when you’re climbing a mountain, don’t you need to exert more effort as you get higher? Even when you’re giving it your all, it can still feel slow—that’s just the nature of the journey. If you’re not moving forward, won’t you start slipping backward? That’s what it means when we say, “If you’re not advancing, you’re retreating.” Once you’ve embarked on the path of Buddhism, if you’re not progressing, you’re falling behind.
Those who are too attached to worldly pleasures don’t make time for cultivating their minds. You must set high standards for yourself and avoid any form of greed. Life is limited, and so is your energy, but if you transform this limited life into the timeless task of guiding and awakening others, your life will become limitless. Let me give you a simple example: An elderly teacher at a daycare centre may be quite old, but when she sees the children and plays with them, she feels only joy, not tiredness. This is how she transforms her limited life into one filled with youthful energy. In those moments, she doesn’t feel the usual passage of time. As we emulate the Bodhisattva by guiding and awakening others, our lives naturally extend.
When I correct you, it’s for your own benefit, much like a parent guiding their child. If I didn’t correct you, it wouldn’t help you in practising Buddhism, and I wouldn’t be fulfilling my responsibility as your Master. Without guidance, how would you learn Buddhism? You pray to Guan Yin Bodhisattva, but can you fully understand her teachings on your own? Guan Yin Bodhisattva guides you through me, your Master, to help you cultivate your mind and practise Buddhism.
Those who are consumed by worldly pleasures often find no time for spiritual practice. But why should we endure hardships in our practice? Why can’t we approach it with joy? The truth is, enduring hardship propels us forward on the spiritual path. It’s through experiencing hardship and practising restraint that we find light and direction.
For instance, many people go to bars and drink. After getting drunk, they might feel happy, laughing and joking around. But once they leave the bar, can they find their way home? They’re lost, unable to find their direction, right? However, if you exercise restraint, drink just a little, and leave the bar with a clear mind, you’ll know exactly where you are and where you need to go. If you drink too much and get too caught up in happiness, you’ll lose your way.