Accepting Your Life

You have to accept your life. Acceptance does not mean "liking" it, nor does it mean that it's a good idea or a good thing. Acceptance simply means recognizing the truth.

One of the important teachings of the Buddha was that what we perceive and what we think are not necessarily the truth, as our perceptions are shaped by our opinions, conditions, and circumstances.

Zen Master Seung Sahn emphasized the importance of letting go—of putting down our opinions, conditions, and situations—in order to see clearly what is actually happening in front of us. This principle is a recurring theme in Zen practice and literature.

If you cannot see clearly, you are acting on faulty information. And if you act on faulty information, you will produce faulty results. Thus, the ability to perceive a situation clearly is essential. Accepting "what is" is a good place to start.

By Zen Master Bon Soeng