No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering

by Thich Nhat Hanh

Thinking we should be able to have a life without any suffering is as deluded as thinking we should be able to have a left side without a right side.

We build and maintain our energy reserves to handle the big sufferings; the little sufferings we can let go.

We create unnecessary pain when our reaction to an unpleasant event is to compare our self with other selves, reinforcing our illusion of separateness.

Our idea of happiness may itself be the main obstacle keeping us from true happiness.

Our tendency is to think that if we let go, we’ll lose the things that make us happy. But the opposite is true. The more we let go, the happier we become. Letting go doesn’t mean we let go of everything. We don’t let go of reality. But we let go of our wrong ideas and wrong perceptions about reality.

According to this practice, you have the right to suffer twenty-four hours, but not more. That’s the deadline.

Attachment obstructs the flow of life. And without mindfulness, attachment always becomes aversion. Both attachment and aversion lead to suffering. Look deeply to discover the nature of your love, and identify the degree of attachment, despotism, and possessiveness in your love. Then you can begin untangling the knots.