Think about a summer garden full of beautiful flowers. What made these flowers bloom? It was the seeds, the weather, and the hard work of the gardener. With these conditions in place, flowers will bloom, regardless of anyone’s hopes and fears. And without these causes and conditions, the garden will be a failure. Similarly, happiness and freedom from suffering arise when the necessary causes and conditions are there, and don’t arise in their absence.

Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

from the book The Intelligent Heart: A Guide to the Compassionate Life

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