Jump-Starting Your Practice: Advices on How to Cultivate Joyful Effort, from Master Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life with Venerable Marut The goal of every authentic spiritual practice is great bliss. In his seminal Buddhist text, Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, Master Shantideva lays out six perfections that form a radiant bridge carrying us from suffering to happiness. The fourth perfection, joyful effort in one's spiritual pursuits, is the bridge's keystone. Without joyful effort our practice can easily collapse under the weight of doubt and despondency. In these two evenings Venerable Marut illuminates Master Shantideva's chapter on joyful effort, offering us practical and comprehensive tools for staying joyful on our path to bliss.