Merle, Well, .. "kind" is a stretch, but I'll take what I can get. Thanks!
Mike ________________________________ From: Merle Lester <[email protected]> To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, 8 September 2012, 22:52 Subject: Re: [Zen] Re: THE BASIC TEACHING OF BUDDHA mike..you are a kind person..and i thank you for your efforts...bless you...merle Merle, > thank you mike...i see Always a pleasure to turn the wheel of the Dharma. >..i ask how does the parents of a disabled child come to terms with >suffering.? buddha style? I can't speak for a hypothetical parent, but basically the 'mechanics' of suffering are the same for everyone, but perhaps not the degree. If I was such a parent, with my understanding of Buddhism, I would understand that my child's disability is the outcome of natural conditions and is not something supernatural like 'god's will' or bad luck, fate etc. Also, being grounded in the 'now', I would be living with my child in each moment as he is and not in the past (regret) or some imagined future (false hope). Instead of living with the pain of what might have been, blame or regret, I would be living with the acceptance of things as they are and would be much more open to celebrating what I have right now. > buddha teaches "escape" Merle, I've copied below the most central teaching of Buddhism in the hope it will show you how "escape" is a completely wrong way of looking at what Buddha taught. You may note that it differs from Christianity in that it is not supernatural in anyway, almost a science of how the mind works. I hope you will give it a fair reading! Wiki Summary The four noble truths can be summarized as follows:[k][l] 1. The truth of dukkha (suffering, anxiety, stress) 2. The truth of the origin of dukkha 3. The truth of the cessation of dukkha 4. The truth of the path leading to the cessation of dukkha First truth: dukkha Main article: Dukkha The first noble truth is the truth of dukkha. The Pali term dukkha (Sanskrit: duhkha) is typically translated as "suffering", but the term dukkha has a much broader meaning than the typical use of the word "suffering". Dukkha suggests a basic unsatisfactoriness pervading all forms of life, due to the fact that all forms of life are impermanent and constantly changing. Dukkha indicates a lack of satisfaction, a sense that things never measure up to our expectations or standards.[1][web 1][17] The emphasis on dukkha is not intended to be pessimistic, but rather to identify the nature of dukkha, in order that dukkha things may be overcome. The Buddha acknowledged that there is both happiness and sorrow in the world, but he taught that even when we have some kind of happiness, it is not permanent; it is subject to change. And due to this unstable, impermanent nature of all things, everything we experience is said to have the quality of duhkha or unsatisfactoriness. Therefore unless we can gain insight into that truth, and understand what is really able to give us happiness, and what is unable to provide happiness, the experience of dissatisfaction will persist.[29][30][31][web 17] Traleg Kyabgon explains: Normally we think our happiness is contingent upon external circumstances and situations, rather than upon our own inner attitude toward things, or toward life in general. The Buddha was saying that dissatisfaction is part of life, even if we are seeking happiness and even if we manage to find temporary happiness. The very fact that it is temporary means that sooner or later the happiness is going to pass. So the Buddha said that unless we understand this and see how pervasive dissatisfaction or duhkha is, it is impossible for us to start looking for real happiness.[web 17] Second truth: origin of dukkha Main article: Samudaya The second noble truth is the truth of the origin of dukkha. Within the context of the four noble truths, the origin (Pali: samudaya) of dukkha is commonly explained as craving (Pali: tanha) conditioned by ignorance (Pali: avijja).[32][web 1][m] This craving runs on three channels:[32][33][34] * Craving for sense-pleasures (kama-tanha): this is craving for sense objects which provide pleasant feeling, or craving for sensory pleasures. * Craving to be (bhava-tanha): this is craving to be something, to unite with an experience. This includes craving to be solid and ongoing, to be a being that has a past and a future,[35] and craving to prevail and dominate over others. * Craving not to be (vibhava-tanha): this is craving to not experience the world, and to be nothing; a wish to be separated from painful feelings.[n] Ignorance (Pali: avijja) can be defined as ignorance of the meaning and implication of the four noble truths.[36] On a deeper level, it refers to a misunderstanding of the nature of the self and reality.[o] Another common explanation presents the cause of dukkha as disturbing emotions (Sanskrit: kleshas) rooted in ignorance (Sanskrit: avidya).[p] In this context, it is common to identify three root disturbing emotions, called the three poisons,[37][38] as the root cause of suffering or dukkha. These three poisons are: * Ignorance (Sanskrit: avidya or moha): misunderstanding of the nature of reality; bewilderment. * Attachment (Sanskrit: raga): attachment to pleasurable experiences. * Aversion (Sanskrit: dvesha): a fear of getting what we don't want, or not getting what we do want.[q] Third truth: cessation of dukkha See also: Nirodha The third Noble Truth is the truth of the cessation of dukkha. Cessation (Pali: nirodha) refers to the cessation of suffering and the causes of suffering. It is the cessation of all the unsatisfactory experiences and their causes in such a way that they can no longer occur again. It’s the removal, the final absence, the cessation of those things, their non-arising."[web 18] Cessation is the goal of one's spiritual practice in the Buddhist tradition.[web 17] According to the Buddhist point of view, once we have developed a genuine understanding of the causes of suffering, such as craving (tanha) and ignorance (avijja), then we can completely eradicate these causes and thus be free from suffering.[39] Cessation is often equated with nirvana (Sanskrit; Pali nibbana), which can be described as the state of being in cessation[40] or the event or process of the cessation.[41] A temporary state of nirvana can be said to occur whenever the causes of suffering (e.g. craving) have ceased in our mind.[42] Joseph Goldstein explains: Ajahn Buddhadasa, a well-known Thai master of the last century, said that when village people in India were cooking rice and waiting for it to cool, they might remark, "Wait a little for the rice to become nibbana". So here, nibbana means the cool state of mind, free from the fires of the defilements. As Ajahn Buddhadasa remarked, "The cooler the mind, the more Nibbana in that moment". We can notice for ourselves relative states of coolness in our own minds as we go through the day.[42] Fourth truth: path to the cessation of dukkha Main article: Noble Eightfold Path The fourth noble truth is the path to the cessation of dukkha. This path is called the Noble Eightfold Path, and it is considered to be the essence of Buddhist practice.[web 17] The eightfold path consists of: Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. While the first three truths are primarily concerned with understanding the nature of dukkha (suffering, anxiety, stress) and its causes, the fourth truth presents a practical method for overcoming dukkha.[43] The path consists of a set of eight interconnected factors or conditions, that when developed together, lead to the cessation of dukkha.[44][web 1] Ajahn Sucitto describes the path as "a mandala of interconnected factors that support and moderate each other."[44] Thus, the eight items of the path are not to be understood as stages, in which each stage is completed before moving on to the next. Rather, they are to be understood as eight significant dimensions of one’s behaviour—mental, spoken, and bodily—that operate in dependence on one another; taken together, they define a complete path, or way of living.[45] Experiential knowledge The term "noble truths" is a common translation of the Pali terms ariya sacca (Sanskrit: arya satya). The Pali term sacca (Sanskrit: satya) means "truth" and "real" or "actual thing." With that in mind, Rupert Gethin explains that the four noble truths are not asserted as propositional truths or creeds. Instead, they are understood in the Buddhist tradition as "true things" or "realities" that the Buddha experienced.[46][r] Gethin writes: The word satya (Pali sacca) can certainly mean truth, but it might equally be rendered as ‘real’ or ‘actual thing’. That is, we are not dealing here with propositional truths with which we must either agree or disagree, but with four ‘true things’ or ‘realities’ whose nature, we are told, the Buddha finally understood on the night of his awakening. [...] This is not to say that the Buddha’s discourses do not contain theoretical statements of the nature of suffering, its cause, its cessation, and the path to its cessation, but these descriptions function not so much as dogmas of the Buddhist faith as a convenient conceptual framework for making sense of Buddhist thought.[46] This understanding is reflected by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, who states that the Four Noble Truths are best understood not as beliefs, but as categories of experience. Thanissaro Bhikkhu writes: These four truths are best understood, not as beliefs, but as categories of experience. They offer an alternative to the ordinary way we categorize what we can know and describe–in terms of me/not me, and being/not being.[s] These ordinary categories create trouble, for the attempt to maintain full being for one's sense of "me" is a stressful effort doomed to failure, in that all of the components of that "me" are inconstant, stressful, and thus not worthy of identifying as "me" or "mine". [...][T]he study of the four noble truths is aimed first at understanding these four categories, and then at applying them to experience so that one may act properly toward each of the categories and thus attain the highest, most total happiness possible.[web 2] The Tibetan Buddhist lama Chögyam Trungpa emphasizes that cessation is a personal experience.[47] Chögyam Trungpa explains: The truth of cessation is a personal discovery. It is not mystical and does not have any connotations of religion or psychology. It is simply your experience... It is like experiencing instantaneous good health: you have no cold, no flu, no aches, and no pains in your body. You feel perfectly well, absolutely refreshed and wakeful! Such an experience is possible.[47]
