Life Isn’t Just Suffering
by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Full article
http://mettarefuge.wordpress.com/2010/12/06/life-isnt-just-suffering-but-clinging-always-is/
Extract
4 noble truths
They’re a practical, problem-solving approach — the way a doctor
approaches an illness, or a mechanic a faulty engine. You identify
a problem and look for its cause. You then put an end to the
problem by eliminating the cause.
What’s special about the Buddha’s approach is that the problem
he attacks is the whole of human suffering, and the solution he
offers is something human beings can do for themselves. Just as a
doctor with a surefire cure for measles isn’t afraid of measles,
the Buddha isn’t afraid of any aspect of human suffering. And,
having experienced a happiness totally unconditional, he’s not
afraid to point out the suffering and stress inherent in places
where most of us would rather not see it — in the conditioned
pleasures we cling to. He teaches us not to deny that suffering and
stress or to run away from it, but to stand still and face up to
it, to examine it carefully. That way — by understanding it — we
can ferret out its cause and put an end to it. Totally. How
confident can you get?
The paradox here is that, in clinging to things, we don’t trap
them or get them under our control. Instead, we trap ourselves.
When we realize our captivity, we naturally search for a way out.
And this is where it’s so important that the first noble truth not
say that “Life is suffering.” If life were suffering, where would
we look for an end to suffering? We’d be left with nothing but
death and annihilation. But when the actual truth is that clinging
is suffering, we simply have to look for the clinging and eliminate
its causes.
This process takes time, though, because we can’t simply tell
the mind not to cling. It’s like a disobedient child: if you force
it to let go while you’re looking, it’ll search for a blind spot
where you can’t see it, and will start to cling there. In fact, the
mind’s major blind spot — ignorance — is the prime cause that gives
rise to clinging’s proximate cause: craving. So, as the fourth
noble truth, the Buddha recommends a path of practice to get rid of
the blind spot. The path has eight factors.
In a more abbreviated form, the Buddha’s term for the practice
is “abandoning and developing”: abandoning activities that hinder
awareness, and developing qualities that expand its clarity and
range.
The abandoning — in which you refrain from unskillful thoughts,
words, and deeds inspired by craving — is obviously an antidote to
clinging. The developing, though, plays a more paradoxical role,
for you have to hold to the skillful qualities of mindfulness,
concentration, and discernment that foster awareness until they’re
fully mature. Only then can you let them go.
If we negotiate life armed with all four noble truths, realizing
that life contains both suffering and an end to suffering, there’s
hope: hope that we’ll be able to sort out which parts of life
belong to which truth; hope that someday, in this life, we’ll
discover the brightness at the point where we can agree with the
Buddha, “Oh. Yes. This is the end of suffering and stress.”
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"To study is to know the texts,
To practice is to know your defilements,
To attain the goal is to know & let go."
- Phra Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo
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