Enduring Hardships
Rinpoche gave this advice on how to bear hardships with patience, courage and endurance.
A geshe gave a talk recently on difficulties, when one’s mind is weak, and how we should have courage when problems arise. Geshe-la said to think that the problems and difficulties are ornaments, so we bear hardships like wearing heavy ornaments because they beautify us.
An example is piercing the body. We are able to endure the pain of the piercings in order to look beautiful. In the same way, we should have patience and, no matter how many hardships we have, we should bear them for sentient beings, have endurance.
Recently I met a homeless man in New York. He lived on the streets and had a very worn umbrella to protect him from the elements. I passed him each day when I went to the local park to do water offering practice for the pretas. I asked a nun to give him her big umbrella as he needed it much more than her. One day I stopped and asked him what was the most difficult thing for him. He replied “Endurance.” I immediately put my hands together in the mudra of prostration and said that this is a great answer, a great teaching.
In samsara, difficulties will always arise because the cause has been created, so we need to wear the hardships as ornaments and have courage and endurance.