Rafting Towards Relinquishment

The Buddha's teaching starts from the problem of the fundamental unsatisfactoriness of life. None of the various experiences we have, the thoughts and feelings, can bring a lasting, perfect happiness. Pleasures can be enjoyed while they are present, but when they are not present, the default orientation of the human animal is to seek them out. Discomfort and displeasure is similarly avoided. We are kept constantly in motion by our craving and clinging. Indeed, it is this craving and clinging that causes this dissatisfaction to be woven into the fabric of our lived experience. The Buddha took the Pāli word for physical pain, dukkha, and extended it to refer to this dissatisfaction, to refer everything from the slightest frustration or annoyance to the most traumatic suffering.

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