Live Session Summary, Sunday, Sept 4, 2022: It was good to be with you today. I recorded the meditation and talk and hope to make them available on Insight Timer as soon as possible. Today’s theme was ‘Ending Suffering’ and the focus was on the Buddha’s teaching of the Four Noble Truths: 1) the existence of suffering; 2) craving/clinging as the cause of suffering; 3) letting go of clinging leading to freedom from suffering—Nibbana or Nirvana; and 4) there is a path to the end of suffering—the Noble Eightfold Path, which is a training in virtue (wise speech, action, and livelihood), training the mind (wise effort, mindfulness, and concentration), and cultivating wisdom (wise view and wise intention).
The Buddha said, ‘I teach one thing: suffering and its end’ and all of his teachings lead back to this central teaching, which can be simply stated as: when we cling, we suffer and when we let go of clinging, we let go of or end suffering.
I shared one practitioner’s experience of bringing awareness to her sharing of how her cravings—for food, drink, etc.—were really false refuges that masked her deeper longings for love, comfort, kindness, peace, and ‘the loveliness of life.’ I pointed to the way that her experience mapped the Buddha’s teachings of the four noble truths—and emphasized that we can work with these teachings on a day-to-day and moment-to-moment level, asking ourselves, Is suffering present right now? If it is, we can explore our own role in creating our suffering. Seeing the relationship between clinging and suffering can help us let go of clinging—the third noble truth, the end of suffering—and we can cultivate beneficial states of mind and heart that lead to letting go and the end of suffering.
I shared the story of the Buddha responding to a question of how to respond if someone is angry towards you—and the Buddha’s response that we can respond the way we would if we didn’t want a letter that was sent to us. It is returned to sender. We can choose not to be caught up in other people’s anger and drama, and to avoid proliferating conflict and suffering.
I shared a poem ‘The Buddha’s Last Instruction’ by Mary Oliver; ‘Small Kindnesses’ by Danusha Lameris; ‘Clearing’ by Martha Postlethwaite; and lines from Mary Oliver’s ‘Wild Geese’ and Dorothy Hunt’s ‘Peace is this moment without judgment.’
Have a good week and see you next Sunday, September 11 at 9 am eastern. Warmly, Hugh 🙏🏼 🌻
