No mud, no lotus

The art of transformative suffering

When we learn to acknowledge, embrace, and understand of our suffering, we suffer much less.
We can transform our suffering into understanding, compassion, and joy for ourselves and for others.
Suffering and happiness are not separate. Where there is no suffering, there can be no happiness, and vice versa.
If you can recognise and accept your pain without running away from it, you will discover that joy can be there at the same time.
Happiness can become suffering and suffering can become happiness again.
The hardest thing to practice is not becoming overwhelmed by despair.
Allow the body to test, to release the tension, and heal.

We don’t stop to take a breath, to even notice if we’re suffering - until suddenly the suffering overwhelms us.
Our thinking, perceiving, and worrying take up all the space inside us.
Our suffering survives because we enable it and feed it.
To consume in order to cover up our suffering doesn’t work.
Most of our thinking is unproductive.
We fear being overwhelmed by our suffering, despair, anger, and loneliness, so we run away.
The function of mindfulness is to recognise the suffering, then take care of it, embrace it, cradle it with tenderness.

When we’re full of fear, we’re often completely focused on preventing the event we dread, missing the joy that’s present.
Being truly seen eases pain significantly.
The situation often calls for understanding and compassion, not blame or punishment.
Compassionate listening gives the other person the chance to speak out and suffer less.

Our idea of happiness can be the main obstacle keeping us from happiness.
Letting go; inviting positive seeds; mindfulness; concentration; insight.
Letting go can take a lot of courage, but once you let go happiness come quickly.
Take care of your suffering by inviting a seed of the opposite nature to come up.
Don’t ignore your suffering. Just allow the positive seeds already there to get attention and nourishment.
“Why do you practice?” “Because I like it.”

Your body is a collective product of your nation, your people, your people, your ancestors.
When suffering becomes seemingly impenetrable, draw on the support of others.
The most precious thing you can offer the person you love is your presence.
Action pushed by collective anger or fear is not usually Right Action.
A toxic environment can bring out the worst things in us.
Compassion is possible in any situation.

Mental formations always have their objects.
The more we let go, the happier we become.
Not let go of reality. Let go our of wrong ideas and perceptions about reality.
When a painful emotion comes up, stop whatever you’re doing and take care of it.
The territory of your being is large, one emotion is very little.
Feelings flow in us like a river, and ech feeling is a drop of water in that river.
“May I be free of attachment and aversion, but not be indifferent.”
When we believe happiness should take a particular form, we fail to see the opportunities for joy that are right in front of us.
The four basic elements of true love are loving kindness, compassion, joy, and inclusiveness.
Unmindful consumption causes suffering. It’s an attempt to cover up suffering. to lose ourselves.
Practice stopping while you’re walking. Then you’ll be able to stop when doing other daily activities.
When you walk to the bus stop, or from one room to another, make it a walking meditation.
Walk just to enjoy walking, without any desire to arrive anywhere.

Added 2024-03-04.