How To Deal With Suffering In Your Life - Buddha (Buddhism)

Buddha was a philosopher, a spiritual leader and is credited as the founder of Buddhism. He was born as Siddhartha Gautama into an aristocratic family in Lumbini, Nepal, in 566 BC, and when he was twenty-nine years old, he left the comforts of his home to seek the meaning of the suffering he saw around him, to search for a life beyond life and death. After six years of self-mortification, he realised that the search for divinity lies not in worldly things but in the mind.

Thus, he abandoned the way of self-mortification and instead sat in mindful meditation beneath a bodhi tree. On the full moon of May, with the rising of the morning star, Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha, the awakened one. For the next 45 years, the Buddha wandered the plains of northeastern India and taught the path or Dharma he had realised in that moment.

The teachings of Buddha revolve around Dukkha, which means suffering, and the end of Dukkha, which is regarded as the state of Nirvana. The philosophy’s most essential teaching includes the Three Marks of Existence, which are as follows: 1. Annica which means that life is in a constant flux, we have already made a video on this, and you can find the link to it in the description.

2. Dukkha which means that life is painful and causes suffering, and finally 3. Anatta which means that the self is always changing After the Buddha gained enlightenment, he traveled to Sarnath in the present-day district of Varanasi, where he met with five monks, he previously practiced with and gave his first sermon, the four noble truths.

These four Noble Truths are the foundational tenets of Buddhism, which spark awareness of suffering as the nature of existence, its cause, and how to live without it. In this video we are going to talk about dukkha, the second mark of existence, to better understand the suffering that we all go through and how we can use these 4 noble truths to deal with suffering in our modern day life. The four noble truths are as follows - 1.

The truth of Dukkha Buddha says “What is the Noble Truth of Suffering? Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, sickness is suffering, dissociation from a loved is suffering, not to get what one wants is suffering: in short the five categories affected by clinging are suffering”. The first truth is the truth of Dukkha.

Dukkha means "suffering". According to Buddha, “All life involves inevitable, unavoidable suffering”. That suffering could be in the form of pain, illness or trauma we can all imagine, such as a broken arm, stomach flu, or getting the diagnosis of a terminal disease.

Even during childbirth for example, even though it's supposed to be a joyful occasion, both the mother and baby are in some sort of physical discomfort at first. He then goes on to talk about suffering that comes from milder but common forms of discomfort and distress, like long hours of work, feeling let down by a partner, feeling frustrated, disappointed, hurt, inadequate, depressed, upset, and so on. He includes the suffering that comes from the subtlest qualities of tension in the mind, restlessness, sense of contraction, preoccupation, unease, boredom, a sense of being an isolated self, a fear of aging, that something missing in life, or something is just not fulfilling, etc.

Buddha never denied that there was joy in our lives, he is just highlighting that suffering is a natural part of our existence, that we are subjected to some sort of suffering in our life from time to time from little moments to tragic incidents. We all constantly seek happiness, hence we overlook the fact that life is really the mixture of happiness and pain. The Buddha wants us to acknowledge this fact so when we do experience suffering, we don’t take it so shockingly or personally.

Instead of accepting this fundamental truth, we resort to alcohol and substances to reduce the pain of losing someone, use cosmetics and treatments to reverse and decrease the effects of aging. Because suffering is uncomfortable, we may suppress or minimize it in our own lives. We blame others and ourselves, that we chose the wrong career or chose the wrong partner.

We also live in a culture that tends to ignore the everyday suffering of poverty, illness, stress that comes with work, aging, and dying while our media presents us with an endless parade of promises that you can avoid suffering through looking younger, upgrading your internet connection, drinking beer, getting pills, losing weight, etc. When we start acknowledging that suffering is just a natural part of our existence, we are at peace during times of great difficulty because with time this suffering will turn into happiness again. 2.

The truth of Samudaya According to The Buddha “The origin of suffering, as a noble truth is this: It is the craving that produces renewal of being accompanied by enjoyment and lust, and enjoying this and that; in other words craving for sensual desires, craving for being, craving for non-being”. Fortunately Buddha did not leave us with just the first noble truth that there is suffering in life. He also taught us the second, third and the fourth noble truth which was to identify why we suffer, how we can free ourselves from all suffering and the steps we need to take to get there.

The Second Noble Truth is Samudaya, which refers to the cause, the origin of suffering or dissatisfaction. Buddha teaches us that we suffer not because of things that are happening to us but because of our mental state. In our daily lives, there can be many things that we consider the causes of our suffering like having no food when hungry, falling off a bike and experiencing pain, or your partner leaving you.

Irrespective of the particular details of any specific suffering, Buddha teaches us that all suffering and non-satisfactory experiences in our life comes from 3 main causes, which he identified as “the three poisons,” or three negative qualities of the mind that cause most of our problems and most of the problems in the world. The three poisons include: Cravings - Cravings meaning our desire, greed or wanting. Buddha puts a very special emphasis on cravings here and says that there are three different types of craving: 1.

Craving of pleasing the senses - this means that we want sensory pleasures, for example tasty food, or melodious music. 2. Craving to be something you are not - this means that we desire and crave to be different to who we are, for example an influencer, celebrity or wealthy entrepreneur, and, 3.

Craving of Not-to-be - this means that we want to stop something from happening or get rid of something, for example to not experience pain after a fall. The second poison is aversion, our hatred towards things against us or against our beliefs. One can hurt others if not satisfied by their beliefs or if those beliefs lead them to threatening us with their actions.

The third poison is characterized as ignorance or delusion; one always chooses to ignore the truth behind life; for instance, one chooses to ignore the impermanence of life, or ignores the fundamental nature of reality, to protect one’s own beliefs or greed. In Buddhism these three poisons are depicted at the center of the bhavachakra, also known as the wheel of life, a visual representation of the sorrows of samsara, the cycle of rebirth and death. Craving is depicted as a rooster, hatred as a snake, and delusion as a pig.

Importantly, they feed off one another; each animal consuming the tail end of the other, making it a vicious cycle of interdependence. This vicious cycle of all three poisons is something we experience daily from both externally and from within. Our craving to earn more money and buy materialistic things, for example, leads to greed and showcases hatred and anger towards anything that denies them those luxuries.

One will go the extra mile to achieve those things ignoring everything that tells them otherwise. The Buddha taught that people whose understanding of life is darkened by ignorance, craving, and aversion condemn themselves to spinning round and round on this wheel, dying only to be reborn in the same suffering state eternally, and therefore cannot reach nirvana. These three poisons are opposed by three wholesome, or positive attitudes essential to liberate oneself from this painful cycle of rebirths and reach Nirvana.

They are generosity, loving-kindness, and wisdom and all the buddhist practices are directed toward the cultivation of these virtues and the reduction or destruction of the poisons. 3. The Truth of Nirodha In the words of The Buddha “The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering is this: it is the complete cessation of that very craving, giving it up, renouncing it, emancipating oneself from it, detaching oneself from it”.

After the Buddha realized the truth about suffering and its causes, he spent six years committed to discovering a realization about the end of suffering. Eventually he found the solution to end all suffering is to remove it from its roots, which is to remove all desire, ill will and ignorance. Thus the third noble truth is Nirodha, which refers to the cessation of craving, letting go of the mind’s desires to end suffering.

This particular truth moves the teachings of the Buddha from being an exercise in analysis to an invitation to transform ourselves. In order to stop craving, we must understand what it is that we are actually craving and recognize that if nothing is truly permanent, then it can never satisfy one’s needs. The end of suffering comes with an end to craving when one realizes that what one is craving is not true reality, but merely a fantasy that imitates and exaggerates reality.

Putting an end to our desires and cravings is a simple thought to conceptualize. However, actually realizing and letting go of our desires is a completely different matter, and a difficult state to achieve. Imagine an individual who smokes cigarettes habitually and knows they need to quit.

Nevertheless, they continue to smoke and have trouble giving up. Buddha says that it is possible to end craving – in the same way a therapist or support group encourages someone to stop smoking by first letting the person know that it can be done. It requires an individual to possess a mental state that can recognise and understand the meaning of their suffering, their craving for cigarettes and how their craving is further adding to their suffering.

By recognising and reflecting on one’s actions and emotions, asking questions about the reason behind the emotions felt, helps one gain insights into the root cause of their suffering. Most importantly, this helps gain an understanding of the relationship between craving and suffering. For instance, if one loses a material object or their car suffers damage, they experience dukkha.

But, what if that person reflected on the emotion by asking themselves questions like, what’s the reason behind this suffering? What made me so attached to the object? Why do I feel this way?

And Why is this act making me suffer? Such thought-provoking questions help individuals gain insights into how our mind craves desires and attachments, and how we can let go of such feelings and emotions. This could start from something as small as not being in a state of unhappiness when we lose a material object or fail to achieve a target.

Instead, one can build an attitude of calmness and peacefulness, no matter the consequences. By achieving such insight and understanding, one can eventually let go of cravings and desires. 4.

The truth of Magga In our final quote from Buddha for this video, he says, “What is the path that leads to the cessation of suffering? It is the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right contemplation. ” The fourth truth is magga, meaning "the path", by which Buddha means his "middle way" in navigating life.

The third noble truth talks about the cessation of suffering, whereas this fourth noble truth talks about the path that will lead towards the objective of cessation of suffering. The Biddha says that there is a path which leads one away from craving and suffering and he calls this path “the middle path”, the path that leads to Nirvana. This middle path is the line between luxury and extreme poverty, a balance between overindulging and depriving ourselves of the things we desire.

To practice the Middle Way, one must free oneself of one’s desires. Buddha never said not to have goals, not to want something. He tells us not to get attached to these desires and to celebrate the idea of “just enough” and embrace a more balanced, sustainable lifestyle.

This path is not a quick fix; it requires a radical shift of one’s mindset and perception of the world. This path has some set of principles and rules that leads to the cessation of suffering as it focuses on the Eightfold Path, the eight factors that rely on each other which leads to new insights and understanding and is marked by discipline and wisdom. The Eightfold Path is divided into three disciplines, “Prajna”, the wisdom path, “Sila”, the ethical path, and “Samadhi”, the mental discipline path.

The three disciplines lead towards a path that can ultimately free a person from Samsara. The three disciplines are divided into eight practice areas, each part of a wheel, the eight-spoked “Dharma Wheel”. Buddha’s Eight Fold Path is explained as, “Prajna”, the wisdom path, under that we have Right View, which emphasizes understanding and gaining insights into the true reality, and; Right Intention, which are thoughts that are selfless and generous.

Under “Sila”, the ethical path, we have Right Speech, which is always indulging in communication that promotes harmony and is free of malice. Right Action, which is taking righteous actions and not causing others harm, and; Right Livelihood, which is making a living through actions and work which doesn’t harm others. And under “Samadhi”, the mental discipline path, we have Right Effort, practicing and cultivating wholesome qualities, and not practicing qualities that are selfish.

Right Mindfulness, which is a mental state where one is mindful and aware of their body, actions, and thoughts, and; Right Concentration, which is an area that is associated with indulging in meditative practices. According to Buddha, the significance of the wheel is essential. It denotes that all areas of practice are equally important, with no beginning or an end, and when practiced all at once, each area supports the other and helps us to use the three doors - our body, mind and speech carefully.

Buddha taught that when we learn to use our body, speech and mind carefully, it would lead to present and future happiness as it helps us to refrain from harmful actions, thus it would remove unnecessary suffering. By controlling our body, speech and mind in ways that help others, instead of harming them and by pursuing wisdom, we can end suffering. Therefore true happiness is achievable through personal effort.

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