“Whenever you are afflicted by sentient beings or anything else, if you habituate your mind to dwelling on suffering only, even the most insignificant circumstance will bring forth great distress. This is because whatever attitude you cultivate towards felicity and adversity will, by nature, grow stronger. Thus, as the power of gradual habituation increases, eventually virtually everything that appears will lead to misery, and there will be no possibility of happiness.
By not recognizing that this is due to your own mental habits, you blame this on external circumstances, and eventually the flames of hatred, evil actions, suffering and so on spread endlessly. Thus, appearances arise as enemies. The reason why sentient beings of this corrupt era are afflicted by suffering stems from our interior powers of discrimination; so this calls for precise understanding.
Recognize again and again the pointlessness and great detriment of all the miserable anxiety you experience through regarding adversity as being purely unfavorable. And thoroughly accustom yourself to the powerful anticipation, "From now on, whatever kind of adversity arises, I shall not quail." In this way practice cultivating great courage. If adversity can be corrected, there is no need to be despondent; and, if it cannot be remedied, there is no benefit even if one becomes unhappy.
If you do not react with anxiety, due to the strength of your mind, it will be easy to experience and handle even great adversity as if it were as light and flimsy as cotton wool. On the other hand, if you react with anxiety, you will become unbearably oppressed with overwhelming misery in the face of even minor adversity. For example, while thinking about a gorgeous woman (or man), even if you try to stop desire, you just wear yourself out.
Likewise, by engrossing yourself in the miserable aspects of some adverse situation, you will be unable to develop any sense of fortitude. Thus, as in the instructions on guarding the doors of the senses, in the event of adversity you should not become engrossed in its characteristics; rather, get used to placing your mind in its natural state and let it apprehend its own nature.”
Jigme Tenpe Nyima
By not recognizing that this is due to your own mental habits, you blame this on external circumstances, and eventually the flames of hatred, evil actions, suffering and so on spread endlessly. Thus, appearances arise as enemies. The reason why sentient beings of this corrupt era are afflicted by suffering stems from our interior powers of discrimination; so this calls for precise understanding.
Recognize again and again the pointlessness and great detriment of all the miserable anxiety you experience through regarding adversity as being purely unfavorable. And thoroughly accustom yourself to the powerful anticipation, "From now on, whatever kind of adversity arises, I shall not quail." In this way practice cultivating great courage. If adversity can be corrected, there is no need to be despondent; and, if it cannot be remedied, there is no benefit even if one becomes unhappy.
If you do not react with anxiety, due to the strength of your mind, it will be easy to experience and handle even great adversity as if it were as light and flimsy as cotton wool. On the other hand, if you react with anxiety, you will become unbearably oppressed with overwhelming misery in the face of even minor adversity. For example, while thinking about a gorgeous woman (or man), even if you try to stop desire, you just wear yourself out.
Likewise, by engrossing yourself in the miserable aspects of some adverse situation, you will be unable to develop any sense of fortitude. Thus, as in the instructions on guarding the doors of the senses, in the event of adversity you should not become engrossed in its characteristics; rather, get used to placing your mind in its natural state and let it apprehend its own nature.”
Jigme Tenpe Nyima