2026年11月10日

Where Do the Eight Sufferings of Life Come From, and Where Do They Lead?

Where Do the Eight Sufferings of Life Come From, and Where Do They Lead?

Day: November 9, 2026

Where Do the Eight Sufferings of Life Come From, and Where Do They Lead?

Do you often feel that your life is filled with troubles and that Heaven has treated you unfairly? Do you frequently envy others for their wealth and successful children, while feeling that you have nothing? Do you often complain that your superiors are incompetent, yet arrogantly use their authority to oppress and exploit you?

Namo Shakyamuni Buddha taught that there are eight sufferings in life: birth, aging, sickness, death, separation from loved ones, being unable to obtain what one desires, encountering those one dislikes or resents, and the suffering arising from the intense activity of the five aggregates.

These eight sufferings follow us like shadows and are deeply intertwined with our daily lives. That is why we frequently experience pain, distress, and oppression. This should come as no surprise. From the moment a person is born, or even while still in the mother’s womb, suffering and torment are already present. Only occasionally, in the brief intervals between sufferings, do we experience fleeting moments of happiness.

As we drift and struggle in the ocean of suffering, what exactly are we hoping to gain?

An extraordinarily beautiful woman? No matter how beautiful she may be, her beauty will eventually fade with the passing years.

Unlimited power and authority? No matter how powerful a person becomes, no one can escape death or attain eternal life through worldly power.

Mountains of wealth? Even if one possesses riches comparable to those of an entire nation, such wealth is only temporarily held.

Romantic love? In life, we often encounter the suffering of separation from loved ones and the suffering of meeting those we resent. In the face of death, even the most deeply devoted lovers must eventually part.

I could not help but look up to the heavens and sigh: Why must we suffer so much? We come into this world, endure countless hardships, and ultimately leave with nothing. Then what is the meaning of all this suffering?

With these questions weighing heavily on my mind, I began a painstaking search for answers.

I studied traditional Chinese culture, hoping to find the key to these questions within the profound wisdom accumulated over thousands of years of Chinese civilization. Confucian teachings and Taoist cultivation both seek peace and stability in this present life, but can such peace and stability truly be relied upon? The shadow of suffering still looms behind every one of us.

I also tried to find answers in Christianity, but cultural differences soon led me to abandon that pursuit.

Finally, I turned to the vast and profound teachings of Buddhism. I visited many temples, met numerous monastics wearing Buddhist robes, and studied a great deal of Buddhist knowledge online. Despite my persistent search, however, I gained very little understanding.

Through the coming together of causes and conditions, I was fortunate enough to encounter the authentic Buddhist teachings transmitted by Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.

The teachings of Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III were like a bright lamp illuminating the darkness, enabling me to penetrate the mysteries behind the countless sufferings of life.

I finally came to understand that the root of all our suffering is attachment to self (self-attachment), and that self-attachment is the root of reincarnation.

Because we are afflicted by the five poisons—greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt—we remain entangled in self-attachment throughout countless lifetimes. As a result, we continue to endure torment in the ocean of suffering within the cycle of reincarnation.

Therefore, eliminating self-attachment is the foremost priority in learning Buddhism.

No wonder we suffer so much! All along, we have been troubled, deluded, and obstructed by our attachment to the self.

Eliminating self-attachment is an urgent task for every Buddhist practitioner. Yet self-attachment follows us at every moment. How difficult it is to eliminate!

What, then, should we do?

We should constantly and respectfully listen to the Dharma discourses of Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and respectfully study authentic, precious Dharma books.

With the Buddha residing in this world, we should take the Buddha as our teacher, follow the Buddha’s teachings and precepts, and cultivate ourselves in accordance with the Dharma.

By doing so, we can gradually free ourselves from the self-attachment that has bound us throughout countless lifetimes, untie the knots of reincarnation, transform causes and effects, and progress from self-cultivation to Dharma practice. Ultimately, we can attain liberation and accomplishment and reach the realm of happiness—the Pure Land.

Are you still searching for the true meaning of life, or have you already embarked upon the path to Bodhi?

Written by Mei Fang

Link: https://myhappylifestyle.net/2026/11/09/dorjechangbuddhaiii-eight-sufferings-of-life/

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Tear Down the Wall in Your Heart

Tear Down the Wall in Your Heart

Day: November 7, 2026

Tear Down the Wall in Your Heart

After retiring, Mr. Li became obsessed with health and wellness.

Every day, he shared all kinds of articles in the family group chat, each with a more alarming headline than the last: “Doctors Never Eat These Three Foods,” “Shocking! This Common Household Dish Is Actually a Class 1 Carcinogen”…

Whenever someone disagreed with him, he would immediately become upset. “What do you know? I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice!” he would snap, insisting that his age and experience made him more knowledgeable than everyone else.

Last month, his daughter caught a cold and developed a fever. After taking one look at her, Mr. Li declared firmly, “You mustn’t take medicine. It’ll only make your body colder. Just drink some ginger soup and sweat it out!”

His daughter wanted to see a doctor, but he stubbornly stopped her. “I’ve studied health and wellness for so many years. Do you really think I would do anything to harm you?”

As a result, his daughter endured the illness for three days. Her fever eventually reached 40°C (104°F), and by the time she was taken to the hospital, she had developed pneumonia.

The doctor frowned and said, “If you had brought her in just one day later, her life could have been in danger.”

Outside the hospital room, Mr. Li crouched in the corridor, holding his head in his hands, unable to utter a word.

He simply couldn’t understand: How could he have been wrong when he thought he knew so much?

In fact, many of us have had similar experiences. We often believe that we are right and everyone else is wrong.

Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III stated in Philosophical Sayings About Worldly Matters:

“There is nothing more foolish than for one to believe that all one sees is reason and the universe is created from it. Whenever one measures everything from one’s own standards, that person is demonstrating ignorance.”

The meaning can be expressed as follows:

“The greatest flaw that leads people into foolishness is the belief that their own views are the truth. From this arises the tendency to judge all phenomena according to their own standards. This stems from a mind that has not attained clarity and wisdom, and therefore remains in ignorance. Those who regard their own understanding as the measure of all things are, in reality, lacking in true knowledge.”

This means that one of the greatest causes of human ignorance is the belief that everything one knows or understands represents the absolute truth.

Such people use their own opinions, experiences, and state of mind as the standards by which they judge everything in the world, whether spiritual or material. Whatever agrees with their views is considered correct, while anything that contradicts them is dismissed as wrong.

The fundamental reason for this is that their minds have not yet developed wisdom, and they lack the discernment necessary to recognize the truth.

They see things from a limited perspective, taking the little they know and using it to make sweeping judgments about matters far beyond their understanding. In doing so, they trap themselves in a state of ignorance.

Once we understand this principle, we can recognize that those who insist on using their own opinions as the absolute standard for judging all things and all living beings are, in fact, people who lack genuine wisdom and understanding.

If we think carefully, aren’t there countless examples of this in everyday life?

Some people believe that education is useless and therefore look down on everyone who pursues academic studies.

Others believe that traditional Chinese medicine is unscientific and consequently dismiss thousands of years of tradition without further consideration.

Still others insist that only their own religious beliefs represent the true Dharma, while dismissing all other beliefs as misguided or heretical.

Ultimately, these people have built a wall within their hearts. They surround themselves with their own ideas, convince themselves that those ideas represent the only truth, and refuse to listen to anyone else’s voice.

Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III teaches us that this attitude arises primarily because the mind has not yet developed wisdom or acquired the discernment necessary to recognize the truth.

As a result, people view matters from a narrow perspective, using the small amount they know to judge the entirety of things they do not fully understand. This keeps them trapped in ignorance.

Once we understand this teaching, we realize that anyone who regards their own opinions as the ultimate standard for judging everything in the world, including all living beings, is actually lacking in true knowledge and wisdom.

In reality, genuine wisdom is not complicated. It begins with the willingness to tear down the wall within our hearts and acknowledge:

Perhaps I don’t know.

Perhaps I’ve misunderstood.

Perhaps my understanding is incomplete.

Only when we put down the ruler we have been using to measure everything according to our own standards, and become willing to listen, observe, and learn with humility, can we escape the confines of ignorance and discover a much broader world.

Later, Mr. Li sighed and said, “My greatest flaw in life has been trusting my own judgment too much.”

I asked him, “What about now?”

He pointed toward the hospital room.

“Now I understand. When there’s a wall in your heart, sometimes you simply have to tear it down.”

Indeed, only when the wall comes down can the light shine through.

Are you willing to join us in tearing down the wall within our hearts?

By A Humble Student

Link: https://myhappylifestyle.net/2026/11/07/dorjechangbuddhaiii-tear-down-the-wall-in-your-heart/

#DorjeChangBuddhaIII #Spirituality #Buddha #Buddhism

From Listening to the Buddha’s Dharma Discourses to Caring for the Elderly: Experiencing True Compassion

From Listening to the Buddha’s Dharma Discourses to Caring for the Elderly: Experiencing True Compassion

Day: November 4, 2026

From Listening to the Buddha’s Dharma Discourses to Caring for the Elderly: Experiencing True Compassion

From Listening to the Buddha’s Dharma Discourses to Caring for the Elderly: Experiencing True Compassion

Looking back on the time when I accompanied fellow Buddhist practitioners to visit and care for the elderly at a nursing home, the memories remain deeply etched in my heart.

I still remember walking into the nursing home that day and seeing some elderly residents sitting quietly in their wheelchairs, staring blankly ahead. It was truly heartbreaking. I couldn’t help but think that, when they were young, they might have worked tirelessly to support their families and devoted themselves to raising their children. Now, in their old age, with their mobility limited, perhaps all they longed for was someone to visit them and spend some time talking with them.

That day, we recited the Buddha’s name together and brought some food to share with the elderly residents. As the sound of the Buddha’s name filled the room, I noticed that the expressions on some of their faces gradually softened, and gentle smiles began to appear. I was deeply moved. I came to realize that, for someone experiencing loneliness, simply knowing that someone cares and is willing to offer companionship is a precious source of happiness.

This experience reminded me of the Dharma principles I had learned from listening respectfully to the Dharma discourses of Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.

In the teachings presented in What Is Cultivation?, Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III teaches us to cultivate compassion and bodhicitta, to learn to consider the needs of others, and to genuinely benefit living beings.

Among these teachings, the Dharma principle of “Exchanging Self and Others through Bodhicitta” gave me an even deeper understanding. When we feel lonely or distressed, don’t we also wish for someone to accompany and comfort us? Since we ourselves long to be cared for, shouldn’t we make an even greater effort to understand the needs of others?

In the past, when listening to the Dharma discourses, I felt that I understood these principles. However, it was not until I personally witnessed the loneliness of the elderly residents that I truly realized that understanding the Buddha Dharma is one thing, while putting it into practice is another.

Compassion is not merely feeling sympathy for others. It means being willing to reach out to them and bring a little warmth into their lives.

That visit also deepened my awareness of the impermanence of life. Today, we may still be healthy, able to live independently, and surrounded by family and friends. Yet everyone will grow old someday. Today, we are the ones visiting and accompanying the elderly, but perhaps one day, we too will become the people hoping that someone will come to visit us.

With this realization, I feel an even greater need to cherish the people around me and make good use of the time when I am still able to help others.

In fact, doing good deeds does not necessarily require accomplishing anything extraordinary. Spending time talking with an elderly person, showing greater patience toward our parents, offering more care to our family members, or taking the initiative to help someone in need—these are all simple acts of kindness that we can practice in everyday life.

When helping others, we should not always be thinking about how much merit or good fortune we might accumulate. What matters most is sincerity. When we genuinely wish for others to suffer less and experience more happiness, our actions take on true meaning.

Looking back on that day, all we brought with us was a little food, some of our time, and our companionship. Yet what we took away was a deeply moving experience that has remained in our hearts.

I am grateful for the teachings of Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, and I am also grateful to the fellow Buddhist practitioners who accompanied me. They gave me the opportunity to put the principles I had learned from respectfully listening to the Dharma discourses into practice, following the teachings and applying them in daily life.

I know that I still have many shortcomings on my path of learning Buddhism. Nevertheless, I hope to always remember the feelings that arose from that visit and constantly remind myself to be less concerned with personal gains and losses, to show greater understanding toward others, and to willingly offer whatever help I can whenever I see someone in need.

True Buddhist practice is not measured by how many Dharma discourses we have listened to or how many teachings we understand. Rather, it is reflected in whether we can begin with the small things around us and transform compassion into concrete actions.

Buddhist Disciple Qiu Huangren
With palms joined in reverence

October 19, 2026

Link: https://myhappylifestyle.net/2026/11/04/dorjechangbuddhaiii-experiencing-true-compassion/

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World Buddhism Association Headquarters Public Announcement 20200101 Correct Reply to an Important Inquiry

World Buddhism Association Headquarters Public Announcement 20200101 Correct Reply to an Important Inquiry