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　　Mahayana Buddhism, from beginning to end, has always emphasized benefiting all beings. No matter what we encounter, we cannot forget to put the interest of all beings first, never thinking to remove only ourselves from suffering and seek happiness alone. Some think that Buddhism equates to escaping reality, being a passive recluse, or daily chanting “Namo Amitabha”. The truth is that it is not this simple. If you systematically study it, and try to understand it, you will realize that within Buddhism is the greatest spirit in the world, and its methods of transforming suffering into practice are beyond belief.

　　What is meant by transforming into practice

　　 For instance, being ill is essentially a very painful event, but within Buddhism it can be transformed to become merit. Perhaps some find this hard to understand: “What are the benefits of being ill

　　 How is that possible!” In fact, you may previously be particularly arrogant and contemptuous of all things. But through the torment of disease, you come to know deeply the sufferings of life, and from then on change your former attitude, start to notice these, care about these, and set a new direction for life. At that point, this illness has acquired a new value.

　　Like the great Tibetan master Milarepa; it was exactly because of the persecution by his uncle and aunt that he later attained such high accomplishments. As they robbed him of all his fortune, to seek revenge, he went to study the dark arts and returned to kill many people. After committing this crime, he deeply regretted it from the depth of his heart, and believed himself to be the most evil being in the world. In penitence, he endured myriad harsh practices, eventually attaining the highest states of realization and becoming in history, an extraordinarily accomplished practitioner.

　　Thus, so long as you know how to utilize suffering, you can produce great benefits. In future, you don”t need to always pray for safety, for happiness. Rather, you should seek the way of transforming sufferings, adversities, and unfavourable conditions into practice. Once you command this, no matter how great a hardship you meet with, you can transform it to become a success.

　　I once read the biography of Madam Curie, when she was 19, because she could not marry her beloved, she was in such pain that she nearly killed herself. Later she decided to turn her personal misfortune into the drive for seeking knowledge, left Poland, and went to the University of Paris to pursue advanced studies. During that period she lived a very poor and hard life, on particularly cold winter nights, she was often too frozen to sleep. In the coldest times, she even had to put a chair on her blanket to be able to sleep. It was just this period of unbearably hard days for an ordinary person that moulded her for a future brilliant career – in 1903 she won the Nobel Prize in Physics, then in 1911 also the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

　　A woman, twice winning the Nobel Prize, is extremely rare in history. Her great accomplishments should be attributed to the broken romance of the past and the hardship of her student years. Without these, there could not possibly later be a Madam Curie.

　　Many university students now have grown up under the love and care of parents and were also nurtured by teachers in schools; resulting in them being like hothouse flowers. As soon as they enter society, they cannot bare any adversity, and try to commit suicide at the drop of a hat. In truth, life cannot possibly be without any suffering. We do not need to escape it, but should face it right on, and know the way of transforming it into practice. Only then can we elevate our mind and mould wholesome moral qualities.

　　In our Tibetan region, because of the influence of Bu…

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