Hence, it is not just in times of suffering, but also in times of happiness, that we need the Dharma. With the wisdom and the force of the teachings to face happiness, to share our good fortune with others, then happiness will not obstruct our practice.

Without the Buddhist teachings and practice, most people are still able to endure suffering; this is because they hold on to hope, even if it is very slight. Faced with good fortune, however, it is difficult for them to remain composed; with money, power, and status, they become megalomaniacal and self-important. Unable to return to their simple life before, and even less willing to listen, reflect, and practice the teachings, they indulge in material pleasures and gradually deplete their blessings.

- Quote from Are You Ready For Happiness? Don't Let the Paper Tiger Scare You Off, "How to Face Happiness"

From a mundane standpoint, we are enjoying our happiness when we have good health and material comfort; but from a liberation standpoint, we are wasting our blessings and happiness. In the sutras, the teachings remind us over and over again not to waste our happiness. Hence, when we are successful in our career or feel great joy in life, we must practice exchanging the self for others.

- Quote from Are You Ready For Happiness? Don't Let the Paper Tiger Scare You Off, "How to Face Happiness"

In Beacon of Certainty, the original face of suffering is said to be pure like the sky above the high plateau in Tibet, just emptiness. The great sage Atisha also said in his commentaries on the Middle Way that the nature of mind is clear and unobstructed like the autumn sky. What is perceived as suffering has long since dissolved into clouds of smoke; there are no traces of it left.

- Quote from Are You Ready For Happiness? Don't Let the Paper Tiger Scare You Off, "How to Face Suffering"

We should contemplate: I must recognize the blessings in my life now. At the same time, I should cultivate gratitude and live a simple and unpretentious life; I should also learn to moderate my desires, be content with what I have, share my happiness, and give to the needy. A simple act of giving even in small amount can also be endowed with all the merit of the six paramitas. To give on the basis of renunciation and bodhicitta results in the accumulation of substantial merit. In this way, the mind will gradually settle down and feel free and happy. I must always remember not to be intoxicated with the few blessings I have; I must exert even greater effort in listening, reflecting, and practicing the Dharma.

- Quote from Are You Ready For Happiness? Don't Let the Paper Tiger Scare You Off, "How to Face Happiness"

Take as an example, when we lose a person or an object that we are attached to, and feel unbearable pain, we should meditate and reflect: can I get back what I lost? If so, there is nothing to worry or feel sad about, I just need to get it back; if I can never get back what I lost, I can only face and accept the reality.

- Quote from Are You Ready For Happiness? Don't Let the Paper Tiger Scare You Off, "How to Face Suffering"

However, we cannot simply count on reason or theory to gain certainty in this view; we need to let the mind rest and examine it during meditation. Free the mind from discursive thoughts; neither review the past nor invite the future. The past no longer exists, the future has yet to come; if there is a mind, it can only be the mind at the present moment. Let us then check to see if the present mind exists. If we have been diligent in our practice of the preliminaries, we would know, in the instant we examine the mind, that the mind at this very moment is none other than clarity and emptiness.

- Quote from Are You Ready For Happiness? Don't Let the Paper Tiger Scare You Off, "How to Face Suffering"

As we breathe out during meditation, visualize our happiness and the causes of this happiness — the virtuous actions and merits of the past, present, and future — transformed into a white gaseous substance which is then dissolved into the minds and bodies of all sentient beings. Visualize all sentient beings receiving this happiness and its causes, and thus being free from suffering.

- Quote from Are You Ready For Happiness? Don't Let the Paper Tiger Scare You Off, "How to Face Happiness"

Although we are under a great deal of pressure, we are blessed with precious human birth endowed with leisure and freedom to practice. If we do not practice, no one can say for sure what will happen in the future. Even if everyone says “tomorrow will be better,” who can give us that guarantee? Natural disasters, famine, war, and violence can descend on us at any time. Let us seize this opportunity now!!

- Quote from Are You Ready For Happiness? Don't Let the Paper Tiger Scare You Off, "Taming the Mind as in Taming the Elephant"

Realistically, only when realization of emptiness is attained can suffering be overcome with the methods of ultimate truth. Those who have gained this realization can appreciate deeply that life is just like a dream. In a dream we may experience the death of our parents or loved ones and feel devastated. If we can suddenly wake up from the dream, no treatment or sympathy is necessary as suffering disappears instantly.

- Quote from Are You Ready For Happiness? Don't Let the Paper Tiger Scare You Off, "How to Face Suffering"