Upāsaka Cattasallā (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cattasalla) wrote2019-03-14 07:46 pm
cattasalla) wrote2019-03-14 07:46 pm
Entry tags:
the Noble Truth Of Suffering
The core of Buddhism is what has been translated into English as "the four noble truths". They're still called that as a sort of legacy translation. The word itself, ariyasacca, could also mean "truth of the noble ones", or "ennobling truths", as in truths that make you "noble". I've never been able to connect with the "noble" adjective, probably in large part because I'm pretty firmly on the anarchist side of things, but it occurred to me that a related idea that I could connect to was "dignity". While as a political being I reject "nobility", I affirm the basic dignity of all human beings (and cats). So, the practice of the "noble truths" is really a practice that brings one to a life of dignity.
Note I say "practice". The ariyasacca are all too often understood as a beliefs. You believe these four principles or postulates, and that's the basis of the Buddhist Belief System. But considering them as beliefs is to go nowhere near understanding them. Yes, they form a basic framework for a view that you adopt as a Buddhist, but it's something you actually put into practice. Something you actually do, and having done so, you bring it to completion.
The first of these "truths" is the "truth of suffering". Oh, so much misunderstanding about Buddhism starts here! We can start with the word "suffering". It is quite simply a horrible translation of dukkha...one that has indeed itself caused much suffering! "Suffering" is included in dukkha, but so is even the smallest, minor irritation or discomfort. Every bit of dissatisfaction is included under the heading of dukkha. The first "noble truth" states that "being together with what is unpleasant is dukkha, being away from what is pleasant is dukkha, not getting what is wanted is dukkha", and, in short, literally any kind of clinging whatsoever is dukkha.
This "truth of suffering" is usually, in summaries given in popular texts that aren't meant for readers who want to practice the Dhamma but just some who want a quick overview of it, given as "all is suffering" or "all life is suffering". What a dramatic, grim statement! And also what a complete and utter misrepresentation of the first "noble truth"! First off, it's not everything in life. It's just the parts that involve clinging to our preferences, to our likes and dislikes, and wanting the world to conform to them. And, as stated above, it's not "suffering", it's that there's a fundamental unsatisfactoriness that comes from clinging to our likes and dislikes, and wanting the world to conform to them, simply because it won't always do that, and when it does, we can't rely on it for lasting happiness, because it will change.
What I've said so far is an intellectual understanding of the "truth of suffering". And it is inadequate. It's a starting point, but to really understand the "truth of suffering", you have to go a lot further than that. You have to look directly at it. You have to feel it. You have to know it not as a set of words you can recite, but as something that is part of your fundamental understanding of yourself and how the world works in a way that goes far deeper than intellect.
This is done by simply watching yourself. And this is the starting point of the entire Buddhist path. Watch yourself. Watch your mind. Watch your reactions to things. And there's the really obvious things, the things that really do qualify as "suffering". There's grief, sadness, depression, anxiety, all these things that are big problems. The things that may have set us in the direction of deciding to look into the Dhamma in the first place. And these things do need to be understood. We need to be able to sit with them, and look at them, and experience them in their fullness, without doing anything to try to change them, to try to push them away or avoid them.
But keep looking. Look everywhere. Look at everything. And try to sit still. Try to just sit still, for as long as you can. Try not to move. You probably can't, can you? Not for very long, anyway, not without some amount of having trained yourself to do so. You'll notice there's this underlying tension that is constantly present, that propels you to want to move. No matter how comfortable your position is, it will eventually feel uncomfortable, and you'll want to adjust. It's this wanting, this fundamental desire for things to change: This is dukkha. "Suffering" is such an inadequate word for it, isn't it?
Anyway, knowing this, and taking a good look at it: That's the "noble truth of suffering".
Note I say "practice". The ariyasacca are all too often understood as a beliefs. You believe these four principles or postulates, and that's the basis of the Buddhist Belief System. But considering them as beliefs is to go nowhere near understanding them. Yes, they form a basic framework for a view that you adopt as a Buddhist, but it's something you actually put into practice. Something you actually do, and having done so, you bring it to completion.
The first of these "truths" is the "truth of suffering". Oh, so much misunderstanding about Buddhism starts here! We can start with the word "suffering". It is quite simply a horrible translation of dukkha...one that has indeed itself caused much suffering! "Suffering" is included in dukkha, but so is even the smallest, minor irritation or discomfort. Every bit of dissatisfaction is included under the heading of dukkha. The first "noble truth" states that "being together with what is unpleasant is dukkha, being away from what is pleasant is dukkha, not getting what is wanted is dukkha", and, in short, literally any kind of clinging whatsoever is dukkha.
This "truth of suffering" is usually, in summaries given in popular texts that aren't meant for readers who want to practice the Dhamma but just some who want a quick overview of it, given as "all is suffering" or "all life is suffering". What a dramatic, grim statement! And also what a complete and utter misrepresentation of the first "noble truth"! First off, it's not everything in life. It's just the parts that involve clinging to our preferences, to our likes and dislikes, and wanting the world to conform to them. And, as stated above, it's not "suffering", it's that there's a fundamental unsatisfactoriness that comes from clinging to our likes and dislikes, and wanting the world to conform to them, simply because it won't always do that, and when it does, we can't rely on it for lasting happiness, because it will change.
What I've said so far is an intellectual understanding of the "truth of suffering". And it is inadequate. It's a starting point, but to really understand the "truth of suffering", you have to go a lot further than that. You have to look directly at it. You have to feel it. You have to know it not as a set of words you can recite, but as something that is part of your fundamental understanding of yourself and how the world works in a way that goes far deeper than intellect.
This is done by simply watching yourself. And this is the starting point of the entire Buddhist path. Watch yourself. Watch your mind. Watch your reactions to things. And there's the really obvious things, the things that really do qualify as "suffering". There's grief, sadness, depression, anxiety, all these things that are big problems. The things that may have set us in the direction of deciding to look into the Dhamma in the first place. And these things do need to be understood. We need to be able to sit with them, and look at them, and experience them in their fullness, without doing anything to try to change them, to try to push them away or avoid them.
But keep looking. Look everywhere. Look at everything. And try to sit still. Try to just sit still, for as long as you can. Try not to move. You probably can't, can you? Not for very long, anyway, not without some amount of having trained yourself to do so. You'll notice there's this underlying tension that is constantly present, that propels you to want to move. No matter how comfortable your position is, it will eventually feel uncomfortable, and you'll want to adjust. It's this wanting, this fundamental desire for things to change: This is dukkha. "Suffering" is such an inadequate word for it, isn't it?
Anyway, knowing this, and taking a good look at it: That's the "noble truth of suffering".