INTRODUCTION

youexcept temporarily andsuperficially, but youmayneed
to experience manydisillusionments before you realize that
truth.Thingsandconditionscangiveyoupleasure,butthey
will alsogiveyoupain.Thingsand conditions cangive you
pleasure,buttheycannotgiveyoujoy.Nothingcangiveyou
joy. Joy is uncaused and arises from within as the joy of
Being. It is anessential part of the inner state of peace,the
statethat hasbeencalledthepeaceofGod.Itisyournatural
state, not something that you need to work hard for or
struggletoattain.
Many people never realize that there can be no
"salvation" in anything they do, possess, or attain. Those
whodorealize it oftenbecome world-weary anddepressed:
if nothingcangiveyoutruefulfillment, what is thereleftto
strive for,whatisthepoint inanything?TheOldTestament
prophet must have arrived at such a realization when he
wrote"Ihaveseeneverythingthatisdoneunderthesun,and
behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. " When you
reach thispoint,youareonestepawayfromdespair —and
onestepawayfromenlightenment.
ABuddhistmonkoncetoldme: "All I have learnedin
thetwentyyearsthatIhavebeenamonkIcansumupinone
sentence:Allthatarisespassesaway.ThisIknow."Whathe
meant, of course, was this: I have learned to offer no
resistance to what is; I have learned to allow the present
moment to be and to accept the impermanent nature of all
thingsandconditions.ThushaveIfoundpeace.
Tooffernoresistancetolifeistobeinastateofgrace,
ease, and lightness. This state is then no longer dependent
upon things being in a certain way, good or bad. It seems
almostparadoxical,yetwhenyourinnerdependencyonform
is gone,thegeneral conditions ofyour life,theouterforms,
tend to improve greatly. Things, people, or conditions that
youthoughtyouneededforyourhappinessnowcometoyou
with no struggle or effort on your part, and you are free to
enjoy and appreciate them — while they last. All those
things, ofcourse, will still passaway, cycles will comeand