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TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 31

I have always been habituated to do what I like and to Another driving force behind my motivation was
take the easy way out. my encounter with a phrase from the work, Directly
Pointing in the Treasure King Samadhi of being Mindful
I have become more open-minded ever since of the Buddhas, before I left the home life: Don’t take
renouncing the home life. From the depths of my heart, the easy way out. I vowed to make this my method of
I had learned that every trial is an opportunity for practice.
growth. I had just left the home life though, so I was
still trying to work on changing myself. Because of this, Perhaps it was due to these vows that I was met with a
there were still a few times when I wished for frequent fair amount of predicaments and difficulties this year.
smooth sailings, for everything to go perfectly, and for Some bystanders could not look on any longer and
everything to be under control. told me, “Forget it! Don’t toil yourself so hard!” Or, they
would feel sorry and say, “Do you want to slow down
Because of this expectation, I was actually unwilling and take a break from this?”
to go through the necessary trials and tribulations
for growth. Therefore, oftentimes I was forced to grit Therefore, don’t take the easy way out, because we
my teeth and bear it all, and at other times, I would are not to do things simply due to the fact that they
go through the process of, “avoidance -> deflection -> are easy to do. Just like Master Sheng-Yen, who didn’t
bargaining -> resignation.” go about undertaking certain specific endeavors just
because those ones were easy to do and within his
I remember the first time when I was assigned grasp. He only sought to benefit beings, and there would
to the duty of the precentor. There was fear and be no hesitation in taking the necessary steps to get
disconcertedness stemming from my unfamiliarity this accomplished. As difficult as the tasks are, and as
of the chantings and the melodies. Before leaving the confusing as they are, we still make the vows to walk
home life, I had never attended a Dharma Service forward.
before, so the sheer number of note changes present
in even just one word was staggering and awesome If we only perceive things to be predicaments or
to me, even more so the fact that the assembly was difficulties, then we would most probably end up with
able to keep up with it. I felt that I was incapable of only distress and toil. But if we perceive things to be
accomplishing the same thing, so my habitual tendency catalysts for development, we would think, “Great! I
of avoidance surged forth. I begged my classmates to have another chance to grow!” Gratitude would not
substitute for me as the precentor, but nobody agreed even be enough for this opportunity!
to do so. The only thing that I could do was to make up
for my shortcomings with effort. Before the service, We can only bring about growth when we welcome
I rehearsed hundreds of times, yet once the service adversity. It is within difficulty that we find the
started and I opened the tune, I even shocked myself nutrients for growth; avoiding difficulties is the same
with the sound I was producing! My voice was hoarse as forgoing the nutrients. It is difficult to be born as a
and shaky. Going through these types of defeating human, so whether we are to grow, to improve, and to
experiences helped me to hone unwavering willpower develop, or to stagnate, to stay, or to halt ourselves, the
and perseverance. Two to three years later, I finally onus is on us to choose, and we should be willing to
mastered the basics of tune openings. accept the consequences of our decisions.

Currently, my familiarity with the chantings resulted At the end of the year, we adjust our compass of life, and
from the breakthroughs that I made when faced with allow next year to be a spiritually bountiful one. EH
challenges. Time after time, I matured and became
more certain of the fact that adversity is a necessary
ingredient for development.