As the Buddha said, suffering is universal. It is one of the common elements experienced by all of mankind over all ages. And the Buddha taught that we suffer, not because of the way things are, what we experience; he taught that we suffer because the way our minds work.
When he started the wheel of the dharma turning with his first teaching, the Four Noble Truths, he taught that the cause of our suffering is our cravings. And that the way to end our suffering is to free ourselves from our cravings.
The Four Noble Truths:
In a word, we can’t end our suffering while continuing to act as we’ve been acting all our lives. Ultimately we are causing our suffering, not the world around us.
Most Buddhists, let alone the average person, find it very difficult to relinquish our cravings and emotions because they are so central to our self-image, to our ego-mind, to the way we have been conditioned to think about ourselves and the world around us by our life experiences. We say, the problem is not us, it is the world around us. And so we continue to suffer, regardless how disciplined our physical practice, regardless how much we pray.
Many years ago when I read a book about the Buddha's life ("The Life of the Buddha," Bhikkhu Nanamoli), one the most impactful stories was the one about suffering. One day, the Buddha was speaking to some disciples, and he asked them whether something caused them suffering. He said, if it does, “it is not you, it is not yours, it is not your self.”
In other words, the emotion or perception caused by something in the real world is not part of your true self. It is a function of your ego-mind which is the home of all of our reactions to our life experience—the five skandhas—the appearance of form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness-ego. These perspectives/emotions are not inherent in you. And the emotions that they call up have no inherent existence in the events themselves either.
Ah, but what's this about "your true self?" We are taught that one of the most important teachings of the Buddha is the teaching of "no self." But the Buddha never taught that. As explained in my post, "The Misleading Teaching of No Self," while the Buddha taught that many things are "not self", he never taught that we have "no self." Indeed, as in the quote above, he often refers to "the self." Our true self is our Buddha nature, our unborn Buddha mind (Zen Master Bankei), or, as I have in more recent years come to understand, the divinity within us or the child of the Universe within us.
But it takes much work and a disciplined practice to regain contact with our true self, because it has been overwhelmed, buried, by the aggressiveness of out ego-mind. Much of the teaching in this blog and in my books is about freeing ourselves from the control of our ego-mind so that we can know our true self again. So we can live in peace and happiness regardless what is happening around us or to us. You cannot free yourself from suffering without changing your concept of who you are.
So the next time you are suffering, stop and say to yourself, "This is not me, this is not mine, this is not my self." Look to your true self, to the child of the Universe within you, for guidance and free yourself.
For understanding my concept of the child of the Universe within you, read my book, Discover Your Power. It was written for teenagers when I was teaching in a middle school, but it is for people of all ages who feel insecure, don't feel good about themselves, or feel they have no control of their lives.
When he started the wheel of the dharma turning with his first teaching, the Four Noble Truths, he taught that the cause of our suffering is our cravings. And that the way to end our suffering is to free ourselves from our cravings.
The Four Noble Truths:
- that life is suffering, suffering being our clinging to the the five things that form our perception of life: the appearance of form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness-ego.
- that the cause, the origin, of suffering is our craving and emotions.
- that the end of suffering is the freeing ourselves from our cravings and emotions, relinquishing them, not relying on them.
- that the way leading to the end of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path.
In a word, we can’t end our suffering while continuing to act as we’ve been acting all our lives. Ultimately we are causing our suffering, not the world around us.
Most Buddhists, let alone the average person, find it very difficult to relinquish our cravings and emotions because they are so central to our self-image, to our ego-mind, to the way we have been conditioned to think about ourselves and the world around us by our life experiences. We say, the problem is not us, it is the world around us. And so we continue to suffer, regardless how disciplined our physical practice, regardless how much we pray.
Many years ago when I read a book about the Buddha's life ("The Life of the Buddha," Bhikkhu Nanamoli), one the most impactful stories was the one about suffering. One day, the Buddha was speaking to some disciples, and he asked them whether something caused them suffering. He said, if it does, “it is not you, it is not yours, it is not your self.”
In other words, the emotion or perception caused by something in the real world is not part of your true self. It is a function of your ego-mind which is the home of all of our reactions to our life experience—the five skandhas—the appearance of form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness-ego. These perspectives/emotions are not inherent in you. And the emotions that they call up have no inherent existence in the events themselves either.
Ah, but what's this about "your true self?" We are taught that one of the most important teachings of the Buddha is the teaching of "no self." But the Buddha never taught that. As explained in my post, "The Misleading Teaching of No Self," while the Buddha taught that many things are "not self", he never taught that we have "no self." Indeed, as in the quote above, he often refers to "the self." Our true self is our Buddha nature, our unborn Buddha mind (Zen Master Bankei), or, as I have in more recent years come to understand, the divinity within us or the child of the Universe within us.
But it takes much work and a disciplined practice to regain contact with our true self, because it has been overwhelmed, buried, by the aggressiveness of out ego-mind. Much of the teaching in this blog and in my books is about freeing ourselves from the control of our ego-mind so that we can know our true self again. So we can live in peace and happiness regardless what is happening around us or to us. You cannot free yourself from suffering without changing your concept of who you are.
So the next time you are suffering, stop and say to yourself, "This is not me, this is not mine, this is not my self." Look to your true self, to the child of the Universe within you, for guidance and free yourself.
For understanding my concept of the child of the Universe within you, read my book, Discover Your Power. It was written for teenagers when I was teaching in a middle school, but it is for people of all ages who feel insecure, don't feel good about themselves, or feel they have no control of their lives.
RSS Feed
