There’s no rose without a thorn. This thought is absolutely necessary to prepare you to experience less pain and more joy in your journey of life.
人生固然有歡樂，但也一定不乏痛苦。有了這種認識和思想準備也是非常必要的，因為這樣會使你的生活增加歡樂而減少痛苦。
 
With a bird’s-eye view, you may realize something meaningful. During your school years, while joyfully acquiring knowledge you are also under the pressure of homework, examinations, and ranking. You face crises and agony. Meanwhile, all sorts of intricate affairs may happen between you and your classmates. In your youth, puberty may fill you with unrealized desires and send you into deeper perplexity.
鳥瞰人生，可略有領悟。上學時，有獲得知識的樂趣，便有做功課、考試、排名次的危機與痛苦。同樣，也有同學間相處的融合與糾結。青年時，春心萌動，幻想聯翩，難以實現，亦難免陷入困擾。
Entering marriage, you are actually in the center of all the contradictions—the matching of different personalities, enduring of family members, children’s schooling, financial management and so on, you may also fall into marriage crisis. As you age, your health may deteriorate and various troubles in your career and family may gradually emerge. Mid-life and old-age crisis will follow, leading you to your eternity.
結婚之后，實際進入了更多的矛盾之中；思想的落差、相處的困難、子女的教育、財務的爭執等等，也會陷入婚姻危機。隨后，年齡愈大，健康愈差，事業、家庭中的許多潛在矛盾會日益突出，因而又會有中年危機和老年危機，直至步入死亡。
 
We may therefore conclude that much of our life may not be spent in contentment. However, the things that discontent are, in fact, not useless since you may learn more from them than from the things that cheered you up.
所以說，人生在世，如意的事不足一二，不如意的則十有八九。但這“八九”不是負擔，而是有用的，因為人在痛苦中所學到的，要比在歡樂中所學到的多得多。