The Function of Adversity

Human weaknesses, flaws, habits, faults, afflictions, and various attachments are not all actively overcome by oneself; some are given up out of necessity because circumstances do not allow otherwise—that is, one has hit a wall. A thick wall appears ahead, signaling that this road is blocked, please detour, and so one is compelled to turn or turn around, and thus a weakness is overcome, a flaw disappears, a habit or affliction vanishes, and an attachment dissolves.

The various disappointments and adversities in life are like walls, preventing us from continuing to follow our ingrained perceptions and habits, and so we take another path—and it often turns out that this new path is the better one. Therefore, adversity and setbacks are not enemies, and walls are certainly not enemies; they are life's teachers, guiding us onto another bright road. For those with heavy habitual afflictions who cannot restrain themselves, it is better to hit walls more often; only then will they have the opportunity to awaken and change course. For one who commits evil deeds, it would be best to receive the retribution immediately upon committing the evil, for only then can he understand that evil deeds must not be done, and gradually he will rein in his evil thoughts. Reflect deeply in the face of adversity, learn to change course, and shift your thinking and perceptions—the opportunity for a turn of fortune will soon appear.

If a person's life goes smoothly from beginning to end, he will forever remain as he originally was—troubled and afflicted, ignorant and deluded, fearless in his ignorance, transmigrating through birth and death without end. Only by hitting walls repeatedly, when the old road is no longer passable, can one learn to adapt, only then can old attachments be transformed and wisdom arise. So adversity is good, and walls are good too. At certain times, a good person is an evil person, and a good thing is a bad thing; at other times, an evil person is a good person, and a bad thing is a good thing. This must be viewed dialectically—look at the outcome, and especially look at the ultimate outcome in the future.

When your attachments are so deep that you cannot let go of all dharmas of the world, if all worldly dharmas were to actively leave you, leaving only the basic resources for living so that you could cultivate the path, would that not be something to be wished for? Yet at the time of death, it is indeed the case that all dharmas leave one and vanish, yet we never see anyone's manas take this opportunity to eliminate self-view and attachments, nor does anyone realize that all dharmas are impermanent and unattainable. Why is this? Under such circumstances, if someone tells you about the eighth consciousness, can you become enlightened?