There is no anxiety: Alleviate anxiety, eliminate pain and stress, let the mind be unattached.

The book contains Venerable Master Sheng Yen's commentary on the Heart Sutra, which expounds on the concept of the Middle Way, avoiding extremes. It elucidates the practice methods of Bodhisattvas, explains the wisdom of Prajna, the nature and elimination of physical and mental suffering and anxiety, the path of awakening, and the explanations of self-nature, impermanence, the five aggregates, the eighteen realms, the twelve links of dependent origination, and the four noble truths. It outlines methods of practice, emphasizing the wisdom of Prajna. The Buddha teaches us that all our anxieties, sufferings, and troubles are not real; these negative feelings stem from our minds, which categorize external people or events as good or bad, leading to anxiety, suffering, and troubles. Everything is constantly changing, with no absolute good or bad; good and bad often depend on each other. By changing our mindset and perspectives on things, we can transform anxiety and suffering into tranquility and ease. The Buddha's teaching of Prajna wisdom guides us to not cling to anything in life, to not be attached to people and events, and to live happily and freely in accordance with circumstances. It is hoped that this book will help a wide range of readers alleviate anxiety, suffering, and troubles, and bring about ease and happiness.

Original Text Excerpt

Most people think only pain causes suffering; they seldom think that pleasure also causes suffering. In reality, both pain and pleasure cause suffering. Suffering can be overt-suffering that feels like suffering. But suffering can be also be subtler, existing below our conscious awareness; this is the suffering of impermanence. All good things that come into your life will eventually end; all thing that arise will perish. As you reap the benefits of past good karma, you also diminish the supply of good karma. There is no guarantee that the stockpile will last forever. Therefore, you need to continue performing good actions with good intentions to replenish your stock of good karma.

The second noble truth is a fundamental tenet of Buddhism called the 'principle of conditioned arising from karma.' Particular actions created karmic forces that lead to particular consequences. This is the principle of conditioned arising; that anything that arises is the result of various conditions coming together, and in particular, the coming together of karma that one has already created.

Practice itself is a kind of accumulation, so it too can be a causal factor in the second noble truth. When done with attachment to self, even helping sentient beings and acting virtuously can accumulate as causes of suffering. For this reason, we should not hold on to the idea of 'I' when helping others, nor should we expect reward when engaging in virtuous actions. By continuing to practice, eventually, you no longer see yourself as helping others; rather, you see sentient beings helping themselves. You see things in the light of the coming together of causes and conditions. Ultimately, you will no longer perceive that there are even sentient beings to be helped, either by you or by them. The Diamond Sutra says: "To deliver all sentient beings without delivering any sentient being is truly delivering sentient beings." This is truly a state of emptiness and non-attachment. At this level, there will be no more accumulation of the causes of suffering.