The Buddha taught that life is characterized by suffering. All beings desire happiness, safety, peace and comfort. We desire what is satisfying, pleasurable, joyful and permanent. However, the very nature of existence is impermanent, always changing, and therefore incapable of fully satisfying our desire. Inevitably, we experience frustration, anger, loss, unhappiness, and dissatisfaction. Life is in constant change, and changes such as birth, old age, sickness, and death can bring dissatisfaction or suffering. Suffering may arise from being associated with people or conditions that are unpleasant, from being separated from people we love or conditions we enjoy, from not getting what we desire, or from getting what we desire then losing it. Even our own thoughts and, feelings are impermanent, constantly changing. Inevitably, all physical, emotional and mental conditions will change. We always think OUR problems are the worst – and there will be no end to them. Perhaps you feel that with each step forward, adverse circumstances pull you two steps back? If so, then welcome to the life. Most people feel the same way. The Buddha taught said that pain is inevitable but suffering is optional. Face it bad things are going to happen to you – they are going to happen to me. There is a story about the a woman who came to the Buddha because her child had died. She went to the Buddha asking him to heal and bring her child back to life. In the Buddha’s infinite wisdom he agreed, but only if she would bring him a mustard seed (something very common) to him from a family that never experienced death. She went from house to house, but every household had experienced. Death. Finally she realized what the Buddha was teaching her – that death in inevitable – something ALL of us will experience. Only then did she accept her child’s death. When Rinpoche was here many people had interviews with him and told him about the suffering they were experiencing in their life. Some of their suffering seemed small – while some of it seemed rather overwhelming. I remember he told all of them that their suffering was very very small compared to others who are suffering in the world. He mentioned people in India who die on the streets with out clothes – without food. When Rinpoche was in prison for committing no crime – he at first felt sorry for himself – but then he thought about all of the people who were so much worse off than him. I was at one of the prisons I visit last week talking about this topic. One of the inmates who is a very good practitioner said he thought when bad things happen instead of thinking “What lesson is there in this for me?” We should instead think “How can improve the situation.” Bad things happen to us because of our negative karma ripening. This is for sure. But the question becomes “how are we going to deal with this?” If we become angry and respond in an angry fashion – it is ironic because we are only generating more negative karma. Some of us resort back to using alcohol or drugs to self-medicate – by numbing us from the pain. Many of you met and got to know Rinpoche while he was here during the months of Nov. and Dec. Many of you know he had made plans to go in Jan to Dharamsala to visit his mother, brother, sister who were coming from Tibet – and who had not seen each other for 8 long years. After he left here I heard that immigration would not allow him to leave the country. I am sure he felt some disappointment. How would you feel? But I can assure you that this did not affect him in a negative way the same as it would affected us. Through is practice he has developed a centered and stable mind. It is through meditation practice that we develop this kind of mental stability – so that we don’t resort to self-destructive ways of dealing with adversity or disappointments.