Many people enjoy practicing virtue, which is certainly important, as it is the foundation of the path to liberation. However, many people are addicted to practicing virtue and cannot transcend it; even after countless eons, they still can’t enter the path to liberation. So, it’s really hard.
Especially, some people have been practicing the path of virtue for many lifetimes, getting used to it. So when they encounter the path of virtue, they feel joyous. They have formed a habitual tendency and attachment to it. Thus, it’s hard for them to generate renunciation and let go of the path of virtue. Therefore, we should study “All contaminated things are suffering”—we need to carefully meditate on the suffering of change, as well as the pervasive suffering. If you haven’t seen through the suffering of change and the pervasive suffering, you can never transcend the path of virtue. Because you lack the wisdom of “All contaminated things are suffering,” you cannot transcend the path of virtue and you consider it good—“How wonderful the path of virtue is!” You regard the wealth and prosperity in the desire realm, whether in heaven or on earth, as superior and fortunate, thinking, “Why not enjoy worldly blessings life after life?” However, this is just your daydream, because you cannot stay there forever. Even though you may have followed the path of virtue for many lifetimes, once there are no Buddhist or other religious teachings, you will decline after your accumulated merits run out. Being on the path of virtue, you certainly have merits. However, as you are enjoying the blessings, you are also consuming your merits, thus you will inevitably decline. Hence, where there is happiness, there must be suffering; where there is suffering, there must be happiness. Suffering and happiness are always intertwined and inseparable. Therefore, when learning “All contaminated things are suffering,” we should carefully experience where the suffering of change comes from—how does happiness arise? Then, we will discover: happiness arises on the basis of suffering; without suffering, there is no happiness. Therefore, our happiness is fake.