我們活在世間，雖然希望一生幸福美滿，仍免不了會有挫折與苦難。有時候，我們好像只能在苦樂之間找到平衡點。不過，透過堅持不懈地用功，可以幫助我們沉著地面對幸福與苦難。但這並不容易做到，這是當我的同修突然得了重病時，我所體會到的。

　　我把壓力太大、事情太多，做為不再靜坐、研讀經教、上禪修課、參加活動、出坡的藉口，轉而花更多時間在家庭和事業上，不再去精舍發心、用功。隨後我的心開始搖擺不定，倍感壓力，甚至開始出錯；於是我在事業上更努力，希望不要出錯，要成功。但我發現自己愈不用功修行，壓力就愈大；當我試著靜坐時，竟無法讓散亂的心平靜下來。怎麼回事？我以前是很容易靜下來的！

　　突然間，我才發覺到自己好幸運！精舍就是解開謎底之處。定課共修、研讀經教及出坡，確實讓我平靜、專注，乃至於事半功倍。令人驚喜的是，當我愈用功，就愈想用功；愈堅持不懈，就變得愈有動力。所以請把堅持用功當做第一要務，發心為自己、為他人與一切有情眾生，持續精進。

　　（Although we hope for a life of blessing in this world, adversity and suffering are inevitable. At times, it seems the best we can hope for is a life of balance between joy and sorrow. However, persistence in our practice can help us look at both blessing and adversity through a lens of calm. But this isn’t easy. I realized this when my husband came down with a sudden catastrophic illness.

　　Turning away from meditation, from studying the Dharma and from attending and volunteering at the Monastery seemed justified and reasonable in times of growing stress and other demands. Therefore, instead of practicing, I devoted more time to keep up family and career responsibilities. I avoided my practice by not showing up at the Monastery. Then I started to falter, feeling stressed and making mistakes. So I tried to work harder, to make less mistakes and to run faster toward success. However, I discovered that the less time I devoted to my practice, the more stress I felt. When I tried to sit down to meditate, I couldn’t calm my monkey mind. What happened? Before it was so easy!

　　Suddenly, I remembered how lucky I am. I have just the place to solve the riddle—the Monastery. Regular practice, studying the Dharma and volunteering actually calm and focus the mind so we can produce more in less time. And here’s the amazing part of all this. The more I did it, the more I wanted to do it. The more persistent effort we put towards our practice, the more energy we have. So, persist with your practice first. Keep showing up for yourselves, for each others and for all sentient beings.）