Inner Peace and Ease: The Victory of One Who Never Loses Strength

Have you ever felt exhausted after a great joy? Receiving a gift, a compliment, or an unexpected success, only to find yourself later feeling restless or anxious? Or conversely, just a small insulting remark makes you feel like collapsing. When we are young, we think these are normal feelings. But the more ups and downs we experience, the more we realize how these emotional reactions leave us weary. Today's dharma talk from Venerable Thích Chân Quang shows us a different path – the path of inner peace and ease.

When we are young, we seek happiness outside ourselves. In our youth, we often think happiness is found in getting what we like: a loving person, a successful career, money, fame. We dive into these pursuits, and when they are lost, we suffer in turn. We believe joy is good and sorrow is bad, but Venerable Chân Quang points out that both are a form of depletion.

“What we consider joy, what we consider happiness, is truly a depletion of our spirit, a depletion of our life, and not genuine joy or happiness.”

While we have health and vitality, we can rise after each sadness or anger. But eventually, as age and energy wane, we no longer possess the inner strength to chase these fluctuations. It is then we suddenly understand: the wise person knows to keep their mind peaceful from the beginning, so as not to grow weary from the waves of joy and sorrow.

What is Inner Peace and Ease? Inner peace and ease is maintaining an unmoved mind amidst all external changes. In Buddhism, this is a precious state, a true happiness. The Venerable explains that when we win the lottery, we are happy, but that joy harbors misfortune. When we are robbed, we are sad, but that sorrow also harms us. Only when we stand in the middle – with money or without it – and our heart remains peaceful, that is true resilience, that is wisdom.

“Walking through this turbulent life, where people cry and laugh, rejoice and grieve, we simply wear a gentle smile and pass through it all. That is the great victory.”

Inner peace and ease is not a feeling of numbness or indifference. It is a deep calm, the maturity of the soul. A person who maintains this peace will not be swept away by praise and blame, gain and loss, victory and defeat. They pass through life like one walking on a riverbank without being carried away by the current.

The Great Gain of Non-Retaliation In life, when insulted, we often want to retaliate. And in retaliating, we wish to strike back even harder – like a spiral of hatred. The Venerable tells a story of two wealthy magnates who challenged each other: whoever had more assets would take everything from the other. Provoked, one might pour all their resources into winning, only to lose everything. But if we can maintain inner peace, we can smile and say, “I lose. You are richer than I.”

“Yet, each time we overcome the insults of others to keep our heart peaceful, forgiving and generous, we gain a great profit, a profit that the celestial beings acknowledge.”

The one who does not retaliate is the one who truly wins, for they know patience and forgiveness. They do not let their heart be drawn into a vortex of hatred. This gain is greater than any worldly fame or profit, because it is tranquility and moral virtue – recognized by the heavenly beings.

Performing Meritorious Deeds Silently to Resolve Past Karma The Venerable also shares about performing good deeds to resolve old grievances. If in the past we wronged someone, a day may come when they seek revenge. However, if before that happens, we do good works, help others, these actions can soothe their resentment. It is like mending a road: we make travel safe for everyone, inadvertently helping even those who were once our enemies. Gradually, the old enmity dissolves, and we also accumulate new blessings from merit.

This is the value of generosity and helping others. Do not begrudge effort or strength; just help people, because every good deed is an opportunity to repay old karma and accumulate new merit. When all old enmities are resolved, we can truly receive the good fortune life offers.

Living as a Victor in this World In closing, the Venerable emphasizes that the greatest victory is not receiving a prize, but inner peace. When we receive a gift, our heart is calm; when others criticize, we do not feel sad or angry. This very peace and ease is the strength that elevates us above the world.

If each of us can maintain this peaceful heart amidst the suffering and afflictions of the world, then this is a great victory. Remember, when our mind is at peace, everything in the world becomes lighter. Let us wear a gentle smile and walk through life with the conviction that inner peace and ease is the true happiness we have been seeking.