Suffering

Decay… fade away… what remains…. what binds us?

When my heart and mind feel suffering, I always try to steer my mind back to the 4 Noble Truths. Sometimes I don’t want to, as part of me doesn’t want to accept their validity, my clinging ego-mind.

But, in the end, no matter how I try to tear these Truths apart, I can’t honestly disagree with them.

First, all that is, is dukkha. This means that all that exists is subject to anguish, suffering, unsatisfactoriness. This is the bummer Truth. Is it really true? Well, no matter the mental games and tricks and logic I apply, I cannot disagree with this Noble Truth. Superficially, it is easy to discount the Truth, but when studied deeply, its meaning crystallizes and understanding pours forth. Bummer. But it is important to note, or keep in mind, that dukkha also means the opposite of anguish and suffering, it can, and does include, satisfaction and pain relief. Why are those things bad? Well, without getting into the details, superficial satisfaction will always lead to a state of dis-satisfaction.

Second, the reason dukkha exists, its birth, comes from craving… So our desire-minds… when we have desires… whether minor like a chocolate bar or major like a love-interest., this gives rise to Dukkha.

Third Truth is that the ending of dukkha comes from the ending of craving, ending our desire-minds.

The last Truth, is that there is a way to end Dukkha. We are not bound by Dukkha. The Way consists of the 8-fold path. This path basically means if one approaches the following 8 things with a true heart, a ‘correct’ heart, then we are on the Path towards Enlightenment: vision, emotion, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and meditation.

So, when i feel my own mind in turmoil, my heart becoming heavy, I think deeply about these Truths. I can then see clearly that my suffering has been born from my desires, my wants, my clinging to external circumstances, and I realize that I am not bound by this suffering. I may still suffer, but its grip, its actual power, has been striped bare.