One has to be cautious when one is very successful since at that time there is danger of becoming prideful and becoming involved in the non-religious, and one has to be cautious also when one has undergone lack of success and so forth since there is a danger of becoming discouraged--the life of the mind, so to speak, dying--due to which harm to one's practice could be incurred.
...Specifically, in situations of low self-esteem, Shantideva recommends reflection this way:
"Even very tiny bugs and worms have the Buddha nature and thus, when they encounter certain conditions, through the power of effort they can achieve the non-abiding nirvana of a Buddha. Now, I have been born as a human with the capacity to understand what is to be adopted in practice and what is to be discarded; thus, there is no reason for me to be discouraged. The great saints and so forth of the past who achieved a high level were people with a life-basis such as I have, not something separate."
Through such reflection, a resurgence of will can be generated.
--from The Dalai Lama at Harvard: Lectures on the Buddhist Path to Peace by H.H. the Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, published by Snow Lion Publications
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