Whatever obstacles we experience, if we can take them the right way, they won’t obstruct our spiritual path. Rather, they will become a tool to stimulate our advancement toward our destination: unconditional love and enlightenment.

So try to feel joy when facing difficulties, for they provide the chance to purify unvirtuous past deeds, the cause of ills, and infuse us with the inspiration to generate yet greater virtuous deeds, the cause of healing and enlightenment.

If your mental and emotional problems could become an inspiration for your spiritual progress, make a point to recognise them as such. That recognition will, in turn, fuel joy and inspiration in your mind. If you nurture and strengthen that joy by enjoying it again and again, you unleash the true healing energy of joy. With that, you can prevent anything from turning into an obstacle. But this is not just about averting challenges so they don’t harm you. It is about transmuting problems so that they fuel your healing momentum.

-- Tulku Thondup Rinpoche