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The people and things that we encounter in our daily lives may not always go the way we want them to. When we get irritated by a person’s behaviour or voice, we have given rise to ignorance. Hence, we should constantly adjust our mindset.
Living in this world, we cannot avoid coming into contact with external states and conditions. For example, drinking a cup of hot tea during winter may make us feel warm and comfortable, but if we do that in summer, we will feel very hot and uncomfortable. Likewise, we will feel unbearable when we come into contact with cold items during winter.
We cannot separate ourselves from things and matters. If we separate ourselves from external conditions and circumstances, we will not be able to discern and understand things. We often differentiate people and things in our daily lives. At a moment like this, if we are unable to accept what we are facing, we will feel stuck as we cannot overcome the obstacle.
Hence, we must train our mind while dealing with people and circumstances. If we can maintain a joyful and loving heart, no matter how unfriendly or unpleasant others are, we will be able to accept them and positively influence them with our actions. We must be resilient and patient while dealing with challenges and difficulties in life; only then will we be able to overcome the obstacles one by one. On the contrary, if we often look at things and matters with an unbalanced mind, our lives will be filled with suffering.
There was once a samurai in Japan who took a sword master as his teacher. One day, the samurai asked his teacher: “What kind of mindset should I have in order to master swordsmanship and become a swordsman?”
His teacher replied, “As long as you maintain the mind you have while crossing the doorsill as you enter a room, you will be able to master swordsmanship.”
What difficulty is there to cross a doorsill? Why is maintaining such a mindset helpful in perfecting one’s swordsmanship? The answer is very simple—the mind is calm and still.
Therefore, we should maintain such an equanimous mind in the face of everything in life. When we do so, we will be able to easily resolve many problems and challenges.
Extracted from “Chen Jin Guang Sheng”《尘尽光生》
Translated by the Tzu Chi Singapore translation team
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