teaching. No one can be by himself or herself alone. We have to inter-be, connected with everyone and everything else.

When we’re hurt, there are two ways to think. We can think in a way that makes us angrier and want to retaliate. Or we can try to calm ourselves, touch our compassion and understanding, and give ourselves a peaceful mind. This way helps us see that the other person also suffers, and then our anger will dissipate.

So if you know how to suffer, suffering is okay. And the moment you have that attitude, you don’t suffer much anymore. And out of suffering, a lotus flower of happiness can open.

“My dear young brother, my dear young sister, you should know that we have grown up. We can protect and defend ourselves now.”

There’s a natural tendency in us to seek pleasure and to avoid suffering. We have to instruct our mind that suffering can sometimes be very helpful.

Do you have a problem right now, in this moment? Look at yourself in your physical form, your feelings, your perceptions. Do you have a problem? If we see that we don’t have any problem at all in the present moment, we shouldn’t let the ghosts of the past dominate us. We should not let the projections of the past or the future break us down.

We suffer because we have not been touched by compassion and understanding. If we generate the energy of mindfulness, understanding, and compassion for our wounded child, we will suffer much less. When we generate mindfulness, compassion and understanding become possible, and we can allow people to love us. Before, we may have been suspicious of

In order to stop that mental discourse, we’re taught to recognize our in-breath and out-breath. To stop our thinking, we just dwell in our in-breath and our out-breath. Enjoying our in-breath and out-breath, we’re able to stop the mental discourse. And that is stillness.

When we have accepted the suffering and are ready to suffer, it won’t bother us anymore. We’ll feel that we’re capable of living that suffering, because that suffering is doing us good and, like bitter melon, it’s healing us. So we allow the suffering to be in us. We accept it, and we’re ready to suffer a little bit in order to learn. If we don’t