เมื่อเจอปัญหาในชีวิตประจำวัน เช่น เจอคนที่ไม่ช่วยเหลือ ให้ใช้เมตตาและอธิษฐานเป็นเครื่องมือแก้ไข ทุกปัญหาที่พบล้วนเป็นโอกาสให้ประกอบเหตุสร้างบารมีข้อใดข้อหนึ่งใน 10 ข้อ เมื่อฝึกใช้และพิสูจน์ผลบ่อยเข้า ชีวิตก็จะง่ายขึ้นเพราะไม่ต้องกลัวปัญหาอีกต่อไปWhen facing an everyday problem — like dealing with an unhelpful official — loving-kindness and resolution are the tools to reach for. Every problem we meet is really an opportunity to build one of the ten perfections. The more we practice this and prove it works for ourselves, the easier life becomes, because we no longer need to fear problems.
A student asked the teacher: when dealing with government paperwork and encountering an official who invents extra rules just to make things difficult, how should one extend or make a resolution to get their help?
The teacher explained that living well requires staying within the correct system — when we live within the system of wholesome causes, wholesome forces support us. But fear and can quietly pull us into the wrong system without our even noticing. What we need is courage, wisdom, and sincerity, together with all ten perfections, to push through difficulties.
When facing a crisis, recall the merit and perfections you've already built. Every human being carries a reservoir of accumulated merit sustaining their life — simply recalling it causes that light to brighten and help resolve the problem. In the case of an unhelpful official, one can direct loving-kindness toward them, visualizing it radiating from outward, so that light of loving-kindness appears within them too.
Every Problem Is a Chance to Build a Perfection
The teacher taught that daily life is really about putting the to the test. Meet someone stingy — give. Meet someone in trouble — help. Feel unsafe — recall your own . Meet temptation — practice renunciation. Meet a problem — use wisdom to solve it. Face something that requires pushing through — draw on courage and effort. Every situation is an opportunity to build one of the ten perfections. Once we start putting this into practice, we begin to see clearly which perfection each situation calls for — and once we prove the results for ourselves, we come to understand the true value of that quality with total clarity.
The teacher compared it to taking a painkiller: once the pain goes away, we've proven the medicine works. Dhamma works the same way — once we've proven it for ourselves, life becomes easier, because we no longer fear problems. Cowardice is a lack of courage; foolishness is a lack of wisdom — together, these two block us from building the perfections. But once we've learned how to build them, everything from morning to night becomes an opportunity to do exactly that.
The Role of Someone Who Has Come to Build Merit
A student then asked: if we are someone who "volunteered" to come build merit in this life, what is our role?
The teacher explained there are three essential tasks: seeking out sources of merit, building the perfections, and reaching inward to the Triple Gem. Seeking merit means going to sources of merit as occasions arise, such as merit-making activities. Reaching the Triple Gem within can be done at any moment, by recollecting the Triple Gem while reciting "Sammā Arahaṃ" — bringing him into our heart. When our heart holds him, his heart holds us, and we gain the Triple Gem as a constant support behind us as we build merit each day.
This must be proven for ourselves, again and again. Whether the image is vivid or not isn't the important point — what matters is whether our heart holds him. The more we practice and prove this, the more confident we become that building the perfections isn't hard at all, and life becomes one of courage paired with wisdom, rather than one of fear and ignorance.