Lesson 2 - Vows to Enlightenment
1. Which of these guidelines do you think is the most important? Why?
1. Which of these guidelines do you think is the most important? Why?
What a challenging question to have an opinion about which guideline is the most important. For me the four noble truths is a great place to start this journey. The noble truths are simple however complex to apply consciously in daily living. I believe that unconsciously we have been trained our minds to seek happiness as a goal. In most cases our daily living presents more suffering to this attachment to happiness.
Reviewing and gaining understanding of these noble truths it is important to appreciate what Buddha's learnings. According to Buddha, whatever life we lead, it has the nature of some aspect of suffering (sense of unease). Even if we consider ourselves happy for a while, this happiness is transitory by nature. This mean that at best, we can only find temporary happiness and pleasure in life. The more introspective we become, we start to see that this sense of unease happens at all levels of our existence.
Being new to Buddhism it appears to be very pessimistic and confusing. However to seek and understand what Buddha offers about the three kinds of suffering gives a perspective of the way of true living. When I review my way of living I choose not to feel the suffering and be in denial or hide from the cause. But through this way I suffer. Living an idealist world that does not live to these expectations I have set in my mind.
Buddhism categorizes this experience into three kinds of dukkha (suffering): suffering from suffering, suffering from change, and all-pervasive suffering.
Suffering from Suffering: This is the most obvious, and is what we normally think of as suffering. It is something that is painful when here but pleasant when going away. Examples include hunger, thirst, and sickness; painful things by nature. Or it can be an argument such as a family quarrel after losing a job.
Suffering from Change: This is related to a sense of instability and unreliability: what goes up must come down. It is sometimes harder to locate this suffering because it relates to our reaction when things around us change in opposition to our desire. Relationships grow apart. Our favorite clothes wear out. A new boss takes over. We get old but want to look and feel young. Change is a constant in our lives, but we would rather have everything stay the same. When it doesn't we often experience the distress of irritation, anger, fear or loss.
All-Pervasive Suffering: At its most profound, suffering is a condition that exists because of how we perceive ourselves in relation to the world. Taken from this view, our entire worldly experience is a definition of suffering that we cannot even see. Having understood the nature of our experience at its most subtle allows us to work with it, to mold it, to change our perception through the wisdom of insight. It is like a dormant deadly disease; diagnosing it at an early stage is the beginning of its cure. All-pervasive suffering is the aspect of existence that Buddhism ultimately strives to illuminate.
Then the second noble truth "the cause of suffering is desire' uncovers the root cause of this and all other aspects of dukkha. The simple explanation of the second noble truth is we cling on to our desires for something other than what is happening at this present moment. The tighter we hold on to the desire and attach to our desire the more discomfort can be experienced. Even when we are happy, we wish the joy will last.
Then when we experience pain we fight against it. We don't want to be in pain but the more we concentrate on it - and the madder we get at our circumstances - the more magnified it becomes.
This 'pushing back' against the bad or 'pulling toward' the good stems from our very concept of self. The second noble truth asks us to look closely at ourselves. The ego is a powerful mechanism. Our experience of ourselves as an individual, separate entity is well practiced. And as the separate entity we perceive ourselves to be, we are always positioning for the most pleasurable and secure destination.
Our concept of self, and our relationship to all our experiences originate in the mind. Dukkha or suffering therefore resides not in our experience itself, but our relationship to it - to how we perceive ourselves in our circumstances and more fundamentally how we perceive ourselves as beings. Shakespeare wrote 'tis the self by which we suffer. Changing our concept of self and building a positive belief structure of our identity of self will release suffering. To accept what is in our control and what is not will release the desire and pain that maybe the cause of suffering.
The third noble truth - the end of desire leads to the end of suffering. This noble truth presents that the root cause of our suffering resides in our mind. The way out of this suffering is to look deeply at the true nature of mind and when you realise the true nature of mind, you achieve a liberation from suffering. What this means is that we recognise and experience the way things truly are beyond our imprisoning thought of self-absorption. We think beyond the ego filtered perspective of our typical daily interactions. As we move towards this new direction, suffering will naturally subside. Our relationship with experience shifts and allows us to let go of our need to protect our sense of self. As we let go of the clinging hope for results from our actions we begin to experience life as a fluid and interconnected whole. In Buddhism once we experience the realities of the second and third noble truths we understand the true nature of mind and we achieve enlightenment.
The fourth noble truth - the way to end desire, and hence to end suffering is to follow the eightfold path. This is the path to liberation from suffering. This simple structure of eight prescriptives of how to live your life is the doorway into all buddhist thinking and daily practice. With consistent practice in each of the eight categories establishes the conditions in which to achieve enlightenment and it teaches the methods to get there.
2. What is the unifying concept of these guidelines?
The four noble truths and the eightfold path constitutes the heart of Buddhism. The eightfold path is designed to practice it daily. Through daily practice one can attain a higher level of existence and finally reach enlightenment. The three primary groups into which the eight are arranged, attaining wisdom, moral conduct and mental development.
3. What do you think the Buddha would have to say today about "Right Livelihood?" Can you think of any positions in today's workforce that he might use as an activity one should avoid?
Buddha would say to choose a living which does not harm yourself or others. Harm can be physical, psychological or spiritual. In the end, morality is a matter of seeing what will benefit you and others as situations arise in your life. As wisdom and awareness increase through practice, beneficial choices become easier to see in the midst of the chaos of daily life. The results of right livelihood comes from hard work and consistency. Practice requires a balance of positive energy, focus and understanding in order to achieve results. One workforce that Buddha might consider to avoid is becoming a soldier for combat. This goes against the principles of right livelihood.
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