Use the first of the Five Reflections, to reflect on How Fortunate You Are. If you actually believe How Fortunate You Are, you can't have thoughts of self-pity. They don't exist at the same time, they can't exist at the same time. Self-pity is looking at what we don't have. How Fortunate We Are is looking at what we do have. We can't think these two thoughts at the same time. So you've got to build up the reflection on How Fortunate You Are.
Here you are, sitting in a meditation retreat center doing, at least your second retreat. Some of you have done ten or more retreats here and retreats at other centers. Is this common? No. It's more common to be at the beach, looking at fireworks tonight or tomorrow night for Chinese New Year or partying. If it's not Chinese New Year, there's another reason to have a party, right?
You guys are not normal. Is that fortunate or not? Would you rather be normal? What's the biggest reason why all of you are fortunate? You've got the Dhamma, you've got some tools to work with your Dukkha. You've got some ways to try to purify and do what is really our duty on earth, to purify, to grow.
Now, that's only one thing to think about, but it has to be very strong, because it's easy to say, "Well, yeah I'm healthy, but there's this spot in my back," or "I have enough money but I can't afford that new computer," and every other different way you can kind of slide a "but" in really quickly. Yet when you say you've got the Dhamma, the "buts" don't work. When you know that you're so fortunate to have the Dhamma, self-pity isn't going to come so much. So get that one in there.