我们活在世间，虽然希望一生幸福美满，仍免不了会有挫折与苦难。有时候，我们好像只能在苦乐之间找到平衡点。不过，透过坚持不懈地用功，可以帮助我们沉着地面对幸福与苦难。但这并不容易做到，这是当我的同修突然得了重病时，我所体会到的。

　　我把压力太大、事情太多，做为不再静坐、研读经教、上禅修课、参加活动、出坡的借口，转而花更多时间在家庭和事业上，不再去精舍发心、用功。随后我的心开始摇摆不定，倍感压力，甚至开始出错；于是我在事业上更努力，希望不要出错，要成功。但我发现自己愈不用功修行，压力就愈大；当我试着静坐时，竟无法让散乱的心平静下来。怎么回事？我以前是很容易静下来的！

　　突然间，我才发觉到自己好幸运！精舍就是解开谜底之处。定课共修、研读经教及出坡，确实让我平静、专注，乃至于事半功倍。令人惊喜的是，当我愈用功，就愈想用功；愈坚持不懈，就变得愈有动力。所以请把坚持用功当做第一要务，发心为自己、为他人与一切有情众生，持续精进。

　　（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.）