THE POWER OF SELF-CONFIDENCE AND DILIGENCE IN OVERCOMING LIFE’S CHALLENGES
Master Jun Hong Lu: Once, in a language class, a teacher named Zhang asked a student, Wang Da Wei to recite some vocabulary. However, Wang Dawei, who was hiding under the desk secretly reading a martial arts novel, was caught off guard and failed to answer the question.
Teacher Zhang was furious and scolded him: “Wang Da Wei! You are hopeless! Not only are you wasting your parents’ money, but also your youth. If someone like you can get into university, then there would be no illiterates left in the world!”.
Humiliated in front of everyone, Wang Da Wei suddenly leapt from his seat, strode up to the podium, and pointed at the teacher: “Don’t you dare look down on me! In this life, I swear I will get into university”. Having said that Wang Da Wei tore his martial arts novel to pieces. After that, in his first college entrance exam, he fell short by 100 points; in the second year, by only 17 points; and in the third, he exceeded the cut-off mark by more than 80 points!
Upon admission, Wang Da Wei was eager to meet teacher Zhang to tell him face-to-face that he had been admitted to a prestigious university, no less. But before that could happen, a year later, he received a letter from teacher Zhang: “Dear student Wang Da Wei, how are you? For some students, ordinary encouragement is useless. What matters is performing surgery on their hearts with a sharp knife. Often, it is precisely through others’ discrimination that we are stirred to awaken the deepest strength within us. Wouldn’t you agree?”
At that moment, Wang Da Wei realised that it was precisely his teacher’s seemingly harsh ‘discrimination’ that had rescued him from his laid-back attitude towards his studies.
As Buddhist practitioners, we must understand that an unyielding character enables diligence, and self-confidence ensures success.
Throughout history, many people have failed not because they lacked ability but because they lacked diligence and self-confidence. Have faith in Bodhisattvas. Self-confidence is a strength; and diligence is the driving force. Without self-confidence, it is hard to excel at anything in life.
When you fail at everything, it further erodes your self-confidence, creating a vicious cycle. To break free, you must summon the self-confidence to fight your failures and laziness. Only when the thought arises will action follow, though it may not guarantee any success. However, without action, failure is certain. Life does not reward mere intention; it only repays effort. Once you take concrete steps, rewards will gradually come your way.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s World Buddhist Fellowship Meeting, Sydney, Australia, 11 January 2020