What are the Highs and Lows of Life Teaching Us?

The apprentice monk approached the master, who was in a bed on the verge of death and asked him:

_Master, what will become of me when you are gone? I will no longer have your lessons and advice. I will be lost in this world full of pain and illusions.

Gathering what little strength he had left, the master replied.

_Do not worry, my dear disciple, I will leave you some lessons in writing, but you must follow my guidelines to the letter.

Feeling a little less distressed, the disciple immediately agreed, and left, letting his master work on the task at hand.    

              The next morning, the disciple went to visit his master as he always did and came to know that he had died during the night. Desolated, the young man began to weep, mourning his loss. He was even more sad when he concluded that the master probably did not have enough time to leave the promised lessons in writing.

              After the funeral, the boy decided to be strong and went to help in the cleaning and removal of the deceased's belongings from his humble room, so that it could be occupied by another monk. When he got there, he was surprised by two envelopes, which seemed to contain many sheets of paper. Both were addressed to him and had messages written by the master. On the face of the first envelope, it read; "To open in a moment of pain." The second read "To open in a moment of much joy."  

Looking forward to the new lessons left in his name, the disciple had the urge to open the envelopes immediately, but suddenly restrained himself, remembering the master's clear instructions. "You will follow my directions to the letter."

Reading once more the messages on each of the envelopes, the boy resigned himself and understood that these new teachings were not for that moment. They were to be used in two very specific situations. He then put the envelopes away in a drawer and reserved them for future moments.

Disillusioned with the loss of his master, he decided he would no longer be a monk and returned to his parents' home.

After a few years, the boy, who was no longer as young, went through a moment of misfortune. His parents died, his siblings moved away, he lost his job and his girlfriend left him. He was desperate. He had no money, no job, no one. He had to beg for food and felt alone in the world. On a night of loneliness, when his stomach ached with hunger and his heart ached for the absences of those he loved, he reached his limit and decided to end his journey right there and then.

He began to look for some sharp object that could help him make the final cut, and when he opened the old drawer, he came across the envelopes left there years ago, written by his old master.

He then took in his hands the envelope reserved for moments of pain and opened it anxiously. As expected, he found several sheets of paper, but they all seemed to be blank. Frustrated, he began to revise sheet by sheet, until in the last one, he found the following message.

"Be at ease and keep going. All of this shall pass."

Amazed at the lesson the master had left him for days of pain, the boy began to cry, but this time, not of suffering, but of hope. He then calmed his spirits, gave up the idea of the desperate action he was about to take, and decided to go on for another day.

Many, many years later, now a grown man, he had managed to evolve in life. He had found long-lasting work and with his savings, had acquired a small piece of land, where he produced something that could be sold at the town fair quite profitably.

With prosperity came new companions, new friendships, and finally a bride. He married, had children, and built a home that made him extremely happy.

One fine day, our friend looked around him and took pride in his prosperous property, admired his beautiful wife, and delighted in his children playing and laughing, happy with the home they had. He then puffed out his chest and remembered the day he almost ended his own life. He thought then; "I’m so glad I found my old master’s message."

At that moment he remembered that there was still a second envelope. The one which was saved for a day of much joy. He then ran to the old desk and, searching eagerly through the drawer, found what he was looking for.

With haste, he opened the envelope and realized that it also had several blank sheets.

Already aware of his master's jokes, he went straight to the last page and there, found the following message:

"Enjoy the moment but remember. That, too, shall pass."  

Moved by the wisdom of his master, the disciple then learned his greatest lesson. It is not worth despairing for situations of pain and suffering, as these are momentary. Life goes on, and soon new events and new situations will present themselves, and the pains and sufferings will go away.

However, it is also important to keep in perspective that we should not delude ourselves with the extremely favorable moments. These can become great generators of harmful pride and the false and arrogant perception that we are superior to others. Such situations are also momentary and will bring with them their own share of responsibilities.

The important thing is to move forward, day after day, learning the lessons that the ups and downs of life bring us.

Everything passes.