In our Sunday meditation this week, I learned the new word/concept Mahamudra. As per Pema Chodron's book The Wisdom of No Escape, Mahamudra is "The state in which all experiences are transformed into transcendental knowledge and skillful means." Why did the sentence stop me then as opposed to the times I had read it before? I mean of course all experiences transform, but it is a choice to use life circumstances as a tool for transcendence. And the concept of Skillful Means is a core Buddhist tenet incorporating Wisdom, Compassion, and Flexibility. I guess yesterday, Sunday November 23, 2025, was the moment I was open to absorb a deeper concept of how and, more importantly, why we use our unique life circumstances to deepen our practice. My interpretation is that the How is to observe our daily activities with curiosity rather than a judgement of whether it is good or bad. The Why, however, is what always throws me. I, as a living being, understand the desire to avoid suffering. It is in my best interest to do so, yes!? Nonetheless, understanding that we cannot remove suffering entirely allows a wiser approach which softens our hearts when we experience or witness hardships. Flexibility comes in as a measure as to how much an individual is ready to endure. The Why, in my quite novice opinion, is so we may be free of suffering and the "compulsive desire" to return to suffering through the desire to avoid it!