Buddhism of Wisdom & Faith 9. TOLERANCE OF ADVERSITY Causes of Adversity Elder Masters of the past have made this observation: When vowing to perform lofty, virtuous deeds or to begin cultivation, the practitioner usually encounters many obstacles that test his will and challenge his endurance. There are four stages in the lives of monks and nuns when they can usually expect to face obstacles: when cutting their hair and entering the monastery, when receiving the precepts, when studying the sutras, particularly Mahayana sutras, and when setting everything aside to devote themselves to cultivation. Some, because they have created good conditions in the past or are especially diligent and persevering, may easily pass through the first three stages to reach the fourth. However, it is difficult to avoid obstructing conditions when cultivation reaches a fairly high level. For example, while an Elder Master of th...
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