Life is a series of test!

 Life is a series of tests. Difficulties are tests. We are in school now. Our whole life is a school. From the time we were born until we die, we are in school.

This is an informal school. There is no classroom. Everything we see, everything we hear, everything we smell, everything we feel, all happiness and all suffering, every problem, every achievement, every success and every failure is a lesson. When we have success, this is a test. It is testing how humble we can when we are successful. Most of us become very proud and conceited: "Oh! I am a success. Other people are failures." So we don't treat people with respect anymore. We become conceited and arrogant.

 In the same way, failure is a test. How equanimous can you be? How can you keep your balance and not feel depressed, inferior, or unhappy about not succeeding. Also it is a test to find out whether you will try again.

From the time we were born until we die, we are in school. It is true!

Yes, we are here to take lessons, and if we can't master the entire lesson, we will have to come back to take the same lessons in our next life.

You fail, you try again. You have another failure and try again. So it is a test to see whether you have the kind of maturity, courage and trust in yourself and trust in life, to see whether you will try again and again. We need to trust ourselves and trust in life.

Life is a series of tests, but you will know when you pass the test; you will be able to look back on them as good experiences! When you are facing difficult situations, often you will think: "Oh! How unfortunate I am. What have I done to deserve this difficulty, this pain?" You complain about your kamma , your parents, your husband or wife, or your government. You complain louder and longer. The more you complain the more it shows that you are failing the test. This is a test for your maturity, your endurance, you equanimity, and wisdom. Whenever you face a difficult situation, remind yourself: "This is a test. This is a challenge. I must learn something from this experience and become more mature."

Everything in this world has a hidden meaning. Because we see only superficially we do not see the underlying meaning of what happens and so things become meaningless. Many people ask me: "What's the meaning of life?" How can I answer that question? It depends on how mature you are. It depends on how much meaning you put into your life. Don't ask what life means. First ask yourself what meaning you put into your life. We ourselves have to give life meaning. Don't ask others for its meaning. Give your own meaning to your experiences. This is very important.

Whether we have good or bad experiences, it is very important for us to look deeply and find out: "What does this mean for me?" Not for other people. Often we want to find a meaning for everybody and sometimes others do not agree with this meaning. So don't ask whether anybody else will agree with your meaning, just ask yourself.

Sometimes I have done things that are very meaningful for me. However most of my friends said: "This is meaningless. Why are you doing this? You are crazy." If I had believed them, I would have lost my meaning.

You may have different values from your family and friends and they may criticize you or make fun of you. However everybody who walks on this spiritual path may face the difficulty of being understood. You need to have trust in yourself: "I know what I am doing and I know what it means to me. If it doesn't mean anything or make sense to others, it is not my problem."

We went to school, we studied and we sat for exams. We passed our exams and we went to a higher standard and this is the way with our lives as well. Every time we pass a test we learn, we grow. We grow up, not so much grow old. Some people grow old but they don't grow up. Some people although they are not very old are already grown up. Growing up doesn't depend on the number of years you have lived. Growing up depends on how much you have learnt from your experiences, from your life, not from books, not from other people but from your life. One of the joys of living is, knowing that you are growing up; each day you are growing up.
      A Collection From Sayadaw U Jotika's Dhamma Talk.