幸福不一定是幸福，痛苦不一定是痛苦

If things go on like this, the mind will become increasingly vulnerable to pain; nothing can make us happy. This brings us even greater harm; in the end we surrender to suffering and become its biggest victim. Thus, we should be fully prepared now 一we must train our mind before problems arise. Otherwise, even if conceptually we understand suffering and happiness come from the mind, this knowledge alone cannot make a difference for us when we really need help.

People look at the same problem differently largely because of the state of their mind. Generally speaking, the mind of ordinary people is more fragile while that of the sages is strong. For instance, when the Buddha was about to enter parinirvana, he was surrounded by many arhats and practitioners. Although everyone knew the Buddha was dying and that they would lose not just a great but extraordinary teacher, all the arhats there were very calm. The exception was Ananda, who, having not yet attained realization, was still an ordinary person. He stood crying by the side of the Buddha’s bed and could not contain his sorrow. The arhats were not disrespectful. Because they had already realized emptiness, they could pass beyond suffering.

To sum up, suffering may not be suffering; happiness may not be happiness either. It’s all about how you look at it.

综上所述，痛苦不一定是痛苦，幸福也并不一定是幸福，关键在于怎么去看待。

When contemplating, it is best to do so when sitting in meditation, not while working or walking.

Take as an example, when we lose a person or an object that we are attached to, and feel unbearable pain, we should meditate and reflect: can I get back what I lost? If so, there is nothing to worry or feel sad about, I just need to get it back; if I can never get back what I lost, I can only face and accept the reality.