on Dukkah

 
We keep suffering because we don't notice we are suffering. We keep running because we don't know we keep running from our suffering. 
stop running to feel what we are feeling...the exploration of suffering and the end of suffering. 
There is one thing the Not seeing of which keeps you bound is suffering, is dukkha. 
Being perpetually dissatisfied...

To move like we are with someone at their deathbed.
Chritina Feldman...'Compassion'...a quote from this book: 
despair, indifference... pain of separation 
compassion

On Right Intention and Right Action – Buddhistdoor Global

On Right Intention and Right Action – Buddhistdoor Global

https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/on-right-intention-and-right-action/

The second factor on the Noble Eightfold Path is called Right Thought, but a more effective translation from tOn Right Intention and Right Action – Buddhistdoor Global

https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/on-right-intention-and-right-action/

The second factor on the Noble Eightfold Path is called Right Thought, but a more effective translation from the original Pali might be Right Intention. The Buddha explains that Right Intentions are threefold: intentions of renunciation; intentions of good will; and intentions of harmlessness.

These three intentions are the opposite of the wrong intentions of desire, ill-will, and harmfulness. Just as thought is the forerunner of action, so right thought is the forerunner of right action. Similarly, suffering will be the result of wrong thought or wrong intention.

The Buddha has told us (Majjhima Nikaya 19) that while meditating prior to enlightenment, he found that his thoughts could be divided into two opposite classes. Whenever he noticed thoughts of desire, ill-will, and harmfulness arising, he replaced them with thoughts of renunciation, good will, and harmlessness. He understood that the former kinds of thoughts harm oneself and others and obstruct the path to wisdom. Hence, he developed the wisdom to eliminate the obstruction and open the path.

The influential Burmese monk Ledi Sayadaw (1846–1923) gives us an important insight when he writes that one may claim to be a Buddhist and even espouse right understanding, but that does not necessarily mean that one will put it into practice automatically. To know the good does not necessarily mean one will do it. Such a would-be Buddhist may still feel some enmity toward others and speak slanderously about them. All of one’s book learning will not change harmfulness into loving-kindness. Only actual application and practice can bring this about. As Ledi Sayadaw concludes: “This means hard work on oneself, which may be painful emotionally, but then the result of accomplishing just a little here is that one becomes a ‘solid’ Buddhist.” (Ledi 44)

The Buddha, at the time of his enlightenment, saw that everything contains its opposite. He saw the duality in nature. In a moment of insight, he realized that everything can be replaced by its opposite—that intentions of good will and harmlessness offer the antidote to aversion, ill-will, and suffering, He saw that thoughts of anger, hostility, and resentfulness lead to cruelty, aggression, and destruction, and that replacing intentions of harmfulness with intentions of harmlessness opened the path to wisdom. (Bodhi 33)

The Buddha once said that his teachings go contrary to the way of the world. The way of the world is one of unenlightened desire, of seeking happiness by seeking objects of desire, while imagining that the attainment of these objects will bring happiness and fulfillment.

The Buddha says the exact opposite of this: unfulfilled desire is the root of unhappiness and dissatisfaction, and the way to get rid of such suffering is to eliminate the craving or desire—to pull out the root of unwholesome desire through renunciation. Going against the stream, the Buddha flows the opposite way, breaking free of craving and finding happiness in a lack of desire.

The mind is in the habit of grasping. We have to break this habit and strive to let go of grasping. If we examine the root of desire and see the unhappiness to which it leads, we should, with effort and practice, eventually learn to resist and abandon desire. When we finally learn that freedom from the hold of attachment is the key to happiness, then we will be able to have our unwholesome desires under control, incrementally, one by one, and ultimately rise above the level of such base bondage.

This does not necessarily mean we should run off to a monastery and abandon the life of a householder. It means that each according to the level of our understanding and the power of our will should strive as best we can to eradicate the root of craving and rise above the suffering that it causes. It becomes a very personal and individual thing, and one makes progress only in accordance with the level of one’s understanding and determination. Another reason why it’s personal is that no one can make the effort for you. You must understand it and do it yourself.

It is one thing to know that one has to let go of attachment, but quite another to actually do so. The mind meets a powerful inner resistance. At first, it seems impossible to overcome this resistance through an act of will. This is sometimes called the problem of how to break the shackles of desire. Just to repress desires doesn’t work, because that only drives them below the surface to rise again at some other opportunity.

Another device the Buddha taught us is to subject desire to analytic investigation and observation. Instead of imagining the gratification of desire and the pleasure and happiness it would bring, we look realistically at the desire and the unhappiness that eventually follows in its wake. When we explore the roots and motives of our mental actions and observe that they do not lead to expected results, sooner or later we become wise to the truth of the matter and alter our behavior accordingly.

“When desire is scrutinized up close, we find it is constantly shadowed by dukkha.” (Bodhi 35) Dukkha in Pali means suffering or unsatisfactoriness. When we stop to think of it, the moment a desire arises, we sense a lack of fulfillment, an emptiness, a feeling of discontent. Wanting is just another form of pain that we would be better off without. When desire is not fulfilled, there is “frustration, disappointment, sometimes despair.” (Bodhi 36) Even fulfilled desire does not guarantee happiness. What if it does not last? What if we lose the object of desire? What happens when the gratification is over with? What will fill this void?

This is called grasping. Sometimes, when we hang on too hard, this becomes a cause of unhappiness. We must realize that the fulfillment of desire is impermanent, that nothing lasts, whether it be the height of sensual delight, or the achievement of wealth or fame or power. The pursuit of such pleasures brings the pain of separation from the object of desire, which increases in intensity in proportion to the degree of attachment.

References

Bodhi, Bhikkhu. 1984. The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to End Suffering. 

Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society. Ledi Sayadaw. 1977. The Noble Eightfold Path and its Factors Explained. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society.

Tags: attachment, buddha, buddhism, buddhist philosophy, 

buddhist thought, desire, Dukkha, enlightenment, good will, 

happiness, harmlessness, Ledi Sayadaw, loving-kindness, 

Majjhima Nikaya, meditation, Noble Eightfold Path, Pali, pleasure, renunciation, 

Right Intention, Right Thought, suffering, Theravada, unsatisfactoriness

Hugh Byrne - Feb 13, 2022 - Being conscious

Summary of Live session, February 13, 2022: For our 75th Live session we had participants from at least 21 countries, spanning 21 time zones (from NZ to CA). The theme of this week’s Live session was ‘The Heart of Mindfulness Practice.’ 

I spoke of mindfulness as a radical practice in that it shifts us into a different way of being in the world and relating to ourselves and others. Rather than being swept up in our unconscious habits, reactions, impulses, and mental narratives, and caught up or identified with our worries, fears, cravings and dislikes, we bring awareness to them. 

We’re moving from unconsciousness to being conscious and aware—the shift from being caught up in a behavior, emotion, or mind state to being aware of it is at the heart of our practice. It’s here where freedom comes—it’s what Viktor Frankl spoke about as the space between stimulus and response, which provides us the ability to choose our response, which in turn leads—when we choose wisely—to growth and freedom.

When we step out of unconscious behaviors into awareness, we’re taking refuge in the truth—in the Dharma. We’re taking our stand on what is, rather than on our wishes or beliefs about how things should be or could be. Rather than defaulting to our escape mechanisms, to what is comfortable and familiar, we open honestly to our experience as it is, meeting it with acceptance and without judgment. 

Mindfulness is also radical and transformative in its goal and outcome: bringing mindfulness to our experience in a skillful way—whatever we are paying attention to—leads to the end of suffering. 

It leads directly to freedom by way of the insights (or seeing clearly—Vipassana, in Pali) we gain into reality: By bringing mindfulness to our own experience, we can see what our subjective experience has in common with all experience—specifically, the impermanence of all phenomena (anicca, in Pali); that nothing can be held onto (dukkha), and that there is no separate or permanent self (anatta), who owns these experiences or to whom they are happening. 

These are known in Buddhism as the three fundamental characteristics of existence. Gaining insight into the impersonal, impermanent, and ungraspable—and hence unsatisfactory—nature of all phenomena helps us see reality clearly and leads to letting go, dispassion, disenchantment (no longer being caught up illusion) and freedom from suffering. 

This letting go allows us to enjoy the deepest peace, joy, and freedom that is not dependent on changing conditions. William Blake’s poem ‘Eternity’ captures this freedom and joy in the midst of impermanence: ‘He who binds to himself a joy // Does the winged life destroy; // But he who kisses the joy as it flies // Lives in eternity’s sunrise.’ 

The poems I shared included ‘Walker’ by Antonio Machado and ‘Mind Wanting More’ by Holly Hughes. 

Wishing everyone a safe, happy, and peaceful week—please pray and meditate for a peaceful outcome to the conflict threatening the people of Ukraine. See you next Sunday at 9am eastern time. Warmly, Hugh 🙏🏻 🌎 ☮️ 💜

Two Kinds of Suffering

Two Kinds of Suffering, April 15th, 2009

By Phillip Moffitt

The Buddha frequently used the image of fire when explaining suffering. In one well-known teaching, he describes how to the untrained mind every sense gate can be a source of suffering: "The eye is burning,"he said,"visible things are burning, the contact of the eye with visible things, be they pleasant or unpleasant, is burning."

In other words, anything you become identified with will burn you. It is either immediately a cause of suffering or will become one in time.

Ironically, exposing yourself to the heat is how you begin the journey that will eventually put out the flames. If you don't submit yourself to the fires of your dukkha (your pains, losses, frustrations, as well as your likes and dislikes) they will consume you.

Only by experiencing your internal responses to life's inherent stress around getting and keeping what you like and avoiding or enduring what you don't like can you know suffering in a manner that will ultimately free you from its grip.

The Buddha referred to this state when the mind is no longer consumed by suffering as nibbana. The pains of life do not disappear, but rather their ability to burn you ceases. What you see with your eyes, touch with your body, taste with your tongue, smell with your nose, hear with your ears, and think with your mind may be pleasant and enjoyable, or unpleasant and quite painful, but they no longer burn; you are not in a state of suffering.

In the poem Four Quartets, T. S. Eliot's description of the process of transforming suffering into joy by embracing the suffering echoes that of the Buddha. He was writing as a Christian, yet he too pointed to the necessity of penetrating suffering, as paradoxical as it initially seems.

The only hope, or else despair
Lies in the choice of pyre or pyre,
To be redeemed from fire by fire.

When Eliot says 'pyre or pyre,' he is referring to two ways of experiencing suffering--mindful versus reactive. Similarly, Ajahn Chah points to this same freeing insight when he says, "There are two kinds of suffering: the suffering that leads to more suffering and the suffering that leads to the end of suffering."

If you try to deny the truth of dukkha or run from it, you will be consumed by your desires, dislikes, and fears. The sole solution is to open to the fires created by the discomfort of your mind and body in such a way that you are transformed by the heat, softened, and made stronger by it.

--Phillip Moffitt, from Dancing With Life (Rodale)