Question 68: TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS, PEOPLE MUST PUT IN A LOT OF EFFORT, AND THAT DETERMINATION IS ALSO A SIGN OF INNER STRENGTH. MANY EDUCATIONAL APPROACHES ENCOURAGE THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONAL STRENGTH. DOES THIS CONTRADICT THE BUDDHIST CONCEPT OF SELFLESSNESS AND ALTRUISM?

Answer: Truth is never one-dimensional; it is always comprehensive.

According to Buddhism, to achieve success, one needs the merit accumulated in the past and the efforts in the present. Additionally, the support of Divine Beings may also play a role.

In the past, to accumulate merit, a person must have already put in a great deal of efforts. So, the current required efforts to achieve success are essentially a repetition of those past efforts. We may notice that the required efforts of a person with past merit differ significantly from the efforts of someone without such merit.

A person who accumulated merit in the past now makes efforts with confidence, ease, and a strong intuition of success. On the other hand, a person lacking past merit makes efforts amidst confusion, uncertainty, fear, and is driven by tormenting greed. If we could see into the mind clearly, we would recognize the vast difference between these two types of efforts.

Efforts stemming from past merit do not cause stress; therefore, it does not inflate the ego. In contrast, the efforts of those lacking merit lead to tension; the more one struggles in confusion and anxiety, the more one’s ego grows.

We should start with a life of altruism, striving to help others. Later, when the rewards of merit come, our efforts will be filled with confidence and ease, without the tension that leads to ego growth.