..續本文上一頁ly renounce suffering, and more importantly, its causes.

　　As I said earlier, our first step is to be open and nonjudgmental about our suffering, not feeling guilty about it. Judgment and guilt will cloud our minds, preventing our intelligence from coming through. Strive to increase your knowledge and understanding. Knowledge leads to understanding and understanding leads to wisdom. Knowledge is information. It is what you hear from teachers or read in books. Understanding is what occurs when the knowledge clicks with you. When it clicks, then the truthfulness of this knowledge dawns on you from your own experience. The wisdom comes in when you realize that it is actually simple to go beyond your own limitations—to go beyond yourself and no longer remain stuck with your problems, with your suffering.

　　So we need to cultivate knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. In doing that, we will acquire a genuine path of renunciation.

　　Whether we renounce anything outwardly or not, inwardly there can still be a genuine path of renunciation. But no matter how much we have renounced outwardly, if we have not renounced inwardly, then all that has been renounced may still return. So it is useless merely to renounce outwardly.

　　If we have truly renounced inwardly, then we could rule an empire, yet when it was time to leave, there would be no hesitation or pain. There would be no problem in leaving and moving on because renunciation has already been developed inside. In order to develop this inner renunciation, some people find it helpful to renounce externally as well, to help shape the inside. Whatever we try to shape externally can affect us on the inside, and whatever we are internally can actually be reflected on the outside, since there is a correspondence between outside and inside.

　　So for some people it is very helpful to try to arrange things on the outside in a more ascetic or simplified way. This helps their minds to stay simple, clear and free. But for others this may not be so important because they can still accomplish what they want without the outer renunciation. One method is not necessarily better than the other.

　　When we hear teachings on the suffering of samsara, we should be encouraged to develop awareness of our own suffering rather than become judgmental about it, or become pessimistic or down on ourselves. We need to create more awareness where awareness is lacking. Suffering is there, but awareness is lacking, so we need to focus our awareness in order to realize our own suffering in greater depth. Upon the realization of our suffering, we need to develop confidence. We will always feel renunciation. Not only do human beings have renunciation, but all sentient beings have renunciation. It”s not as if we are some great or exceptional beings in this regard. All sentient beings have renunciation towards suffering.

　　Increasing Our Awareness

　　As we said, in order to realistically cultivate a path of renunciation, we need to increase knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Let”s speak about knowledge first. Things occur in repetitions. If you observe your habits, you”ll see that habits do not appear just once and then go away. They come back repetitively, one after the next, like waves. That is how the mind works also—in repetitions. So as we develop more awareness, we see that habits by nature arise in repetitions. When we see this, understanding naturally will be present. It is not that we have to specifically exercise our brains to understand more. This is simply about increasing awareness. Increasing awareness will bring more information into our minds, and more clarity.

　　Awareness leads to knowledge. Knowledge leads to understanding. What then is understanding

　　 Understanding is glimpsing. For example, in the midst of our expe…

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