Suffering, the Causes of Suffering, Liberation and the Noble Path of the Eight Branches
- 2019
The Four Noble Truths
“I teach about suffering and the way it ends”
- Shakyamuni Buddha
Introduction
The teachings of the Four Noble Truths are among the first of many teachings that Shakyamuni Buddha left us in Sarnath (near Benares or Varansi in northeastern India ), seven weeks after attaining enlightenment in Bodhgaya .
These teachings are known to contain the essence of the Buddhist path, beyond the tradition one practices.
1. This is Suffering
According to the Buddha, whatever life we lead, it has the nature of some aspect of suffering .
Even if we consider ourselves happy for a moment, this happiness is transitory by nature. This means that, at best, we can only find transient happiness and pleasure in life.
Suffering (or dissatisfaction) can be distinguished in three ways:
- Suffering from suffering : this refers to the most obvious aspects, such as pain, fear and mental anguish.
- Suffering from change : refers to the problems that change brings us, such as the disappearance of joy, nothing endures; The crumbling and death.
- Penetrating suffering : this is the most difficult aspect to understand, it refers to the fact that we always have the potential to suffer or be able to keep ourselves in problematic situations. Even death is not a solution in Buddhist philosophy, since we will simply find ourselves reincarnating in a different body, which will also experience problems.
To illustrate this with the words of the seventh Dalai Lama (from Songs of spiritual transformation translated by Glenn Mullin ):
Hundreds of stupid flies gather
in a piece of rotten meat.
Enjoying, they think, a delicious feast.
This image fits the song
from myriad naive living beings
Who seek happiness in superficial pleasures;
and countless way they try,
However, I have never seen them satisfied.
Notice that suffering is an inadequate translation of the word Dukkha, but it is the most commonly accepted, in the absence of a better word in Spain ol. Dukkha means intolerable, insubstantial, difficult to bear and can also mean imperfect, unsatisfactory or unable to provide perfect happiness . Interestingly, some people even translate it as stress s .
Suffering is a great word in Buddhist thinking. It is the key term and should be thoroughly understood.
The word in Pali is dukkha, and it does not mean only the agony of the body. It means that deep subtle feeling of dissatisfaction that is part of every mental moment and which results directly from the mental ferris wheel.
The essence of life is suffering, said the Buddha . At first glance this seems morbid and pessimistic in excess. It seems really lacking. After all, there are many moments when we are happy.
Are there any? No, they do not exist. It just seems to be that way. Take any moment you have really felt and examine it carefully.
Beneath the joy, you will find that subtle, penetrating underlying tension trend, which no matter how great this moment is, has to end.
No matter how much you have obtained, you will either lose some of it or spend the rest of your days taking care of what you have and looking for strategies on how to get more. And in the end, you also have to die. In the end, you lose everything. Everything is transitory. ”Here is based one of the Four Noble Truths .
Henepola Guanaratana, in ' Mindfulness in simple English '.
2. The Causes of Suffering
The reason we experience suffering ultimately comes from our mind.
According to Buddhism, our main mental problems or root illusions are: attachment, anger and ignorance.
It is because of these illusions that we engage in actions that cause problems for ourselves and others. With each negative action ( karma ) we commit, we create a potential for negative experiences.
How can attachment cause us suffering?
We should only think of chocolate and there will be the temptation to eat more than is good for us. Or as an example, my favorite story: the way people used to hunt monkeys in South India: One took a coconut and made a hole, big enough for the monkey to put his hand inside. Then, he tied the coconut, and put a candy inside.
The monkey smells the candy, introduces its hand in the coconut, takes the candy and ... the hole is too small to let out a clenched fist from inside the coconut. The last thing the monkey would consider is to drop the candy, so it is tied because of its own attachment . They would only eventually let him go when they fall asleep or become unconscious from fatigue.
Ultimately, the Buddha explains that our attachment to life keeps us in a cyclic or samsara existence, which does not bring us continued happiness.
How can anger cause us suffering?
As will be explained on the page on karma, all our actions have consequences.
Doing evil to others will return in the form of us being victims.
Anger is one of the reasons we create harm to others, so logically it is regularly the cause of our own suffering . Therefore, the Four Noble Truths are very clear when talking about karma and its consequences.
How can ignorance cause us suffering?
This is explained in two ways:
- The conventional way is that by not being omniscient, we regularly get into trouble.
We do not realize all the consequences of our actions, we do not understand other beings and we do not understand why the world is exactly as it is.
Therefore, we often end up in situations where we do not perform the best actions.
Just reflect for a moment on how often we think: " If only I had known this before ... "
- The most complicated explanation has to do with the deepest aspect of Buddhist philosophy: the ultimate truth or the void, also highly implicit and explicit in the Four Noble Truths.
This is a vast matter, it takes years of study and meditation to realize the vision towards the wisdom of emptiness .
To put it simply: reality is not what we think . Since reality is different from our opinions about it, we get into trouble.
As long as we cannot realize the ultimate truth, we will be stuck in a cyclic existence .
While we are in a cyclic existence, we experience at all times some aspect of suffering (which will be at least the potential for future suffering).
3. Suffering can end, Nirvana is Peace
This is the most positive message of Buddhism: As much as suffering is always present in our cyclic existence, we can close this cycle of problems and pain, and enter Nirvana, which is a state beyond suffering.
The reasoning behind the Four Noble Truths, and specifically of this Third Noble Truth is the fact that suffering and the causes of suffering are dependent on the state of our mind, so if we can change our own mind, we can also eliminate the suffering
The reasons why we commit actions that harm ourselves and others come from our illusions.
When we possess the appropriate wisdom (conventional and ultimate), we can free ourselves from these illusions, and therefore from all our problems and sufferings.
When this process is complete, we can leave our cyclic existence and enjoy the state of Nirvana, free of problems.
The reasoning so far is simple enough, when we are sick, we go to the doctor. He knows (ideally) what is wrong, and prescribes medicines and gives us advice, which we must take and abide by to get well again.
In the same way, when a spiritual master prescribes us a practice and the development of our wisdom to end our suffering, we still have to follow those instructions, otherwise they will have no effect. That does not lead to the last of the Noble Truths of the Path of ' medicine '.
Amazing the Wisdom of these Four Noble Truths !
4. The True Way, or the Noble Way of the Eight Branches
If we can control our body and mind in such a way that we help others instead of harming them, and generating wisdom in our own mind, we can end our suffering and problems.
The Buddha summed up the correct attitude and actions of the Four Noble Truths in the Noble Eightfold Path :
( The first 3 are to avoid the 10 non-virtues of the mind, speech and body:)
- Right Thought: Avoid greed, the desire to harm others and the wrong look (like thinking: actions have no consequences, I will never have problems, there is no way to end suffering, etc.)
- Right Speech: Avoid lying, divisive and cruel speech, and vain gossip.
- Right Actions: Avoid killing, stealing and sexual misconduct.
- Right Support: Try to lead a life with the highest attitude of thought, speech and actions.
- Right Understanding: Develop genuine wisdom.
( The last three aspects relate mainly to the practice of meditation:) - Right Effort: After the first real step we need a cheerful perseverance to continue.
- Right Attention: Try to be aware of the “ here and now ”, instead of dreaming of the “ there and then ”.
- Correct Concentration: Maintain a quiet, calm and attentive state of mind.
The Buddha explained that we can use the Four Wands to verify if we are practicing correctly: we should feel happiness, compassion, love and a joyful effort when we practice.
If none of these is present, something is definitely wrong with our practice.
“ One way to prevent mental suffering is to observe ourselves and discover what triggers our problem.
If we can identify what causes our blood pressure to rise and cause the feeling of discomfort, then we have taken a great step towards seeing the larger image.
With this broader perspective, there is less chance that we will return to the usual old pattern that only makes us feel bad.
It is not that we have to stop going to all our family vacations, but that we find ways to enjoy the parts that are enjoyable, such as delicious food and the chance to connect with people, and feel more neutral and detached about the moments Annoying and harmful.
Many times we place too much expectation and requirements on ourselves and those around us. We could give some space to the situation and see what develops.
The most gentle thing we can do in these situations is to remain calm and refrain from causing greater difficulties. "
From ' Your Mind Is Your Teacher: Waking Up Through Contemplative Meditation, by Khenpo Gawang
Products are specially designed to attract the eye and captivate the mind. Because we focus on what we must acquire, more than what we already have, we fall into the endless game of overcoming .
The functions you need come in the next version! The new design is much more attractive! And it comes in your favorite color! These products can be mass produced, but they are customized to fit our greed and ambition. They are exactly tailored to distract us with their appearances.
As I see it, however, the biggest problem is the candor of our mind . This is what leaves us vulnerable to the seduction of things that distract us.
In other words, we ourselves are the biggest problem. Sometimes we are like little children; When it comes to supplying our own needs, we do not regularly show maturity signals.
Just think about it: When a small child cries, the easiest way to stop him is to give him a toy. We move it in front of him and shake it around him to attract his attention until he stretches to grab it.
When we finally hit him, he calms down. Our goal was just to stop with his tears. We did not meet the underlying needs of the child. We only gave him something else to wish for, we tricked him into being silent for the moment.
From The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from Inside to Outside, by HH the Seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje.
Thus, after recognizing the existence and cause of our problems and suffering, the third Noble Truth explains that we have no need to suffer endlessly, and the fourth Noble Truth describes what we can do to end all suffering ; walk in the true spiritual path.
How did you think about this Article on the Four Noble Truths? We invite you to make all your contributions in the comments section, to know me of the Four Noble Truths was amazing, an incredible experience!
Author : Lucas, Editor and Translator of the great family of hermandadblanca.org
Source: http://viewonbuddhism.org/4_noble_truths.html
