RIGHT VIEW
Understanding the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering
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What is the origin of
suffering? It is craving, which brings renewal of being, is accompanied
by delight and lust, and delights in this and that—that is, craving for
sensual pleasures, craving for being, and craving for non-being. (MN 9)
When one does not know and see feeling tone as it actually is, then one
is attached to feeling tone. When one is attached, one becomes
infatuated, and one’s craving increases. One’s bodily and mental
troubles increase, and one experiences bodily and mental suffering. (MN
149)
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Pleasant and
painful sensations come and go constantly in our experience, and it is
these and not the emotions to which the Buddhist terms feeling and feeling tone
refer. Feelings often carry us along in a flood of craving for pleasure
to continue or increase and for pain to stop and go away. Mindfulness
is the quality of mind that goes against this stream and allows us to
simply be steadily aware of whatever presents itself in our experience.
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Is it always
necessary to be attached to pleasant feeling tones and averse to painful
ones? Are we compelled to pursue pleasure and avoid pain? Conventional
wisdom says of course, while Buddhist teachings say no, we can free
ourselves of this compulsion. Practice being aware of both pleasure and
pain with an attitude of equanimity rather than one of favoring or
opposing. It is a new habit worth cultivating.
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Tomorrow: Cultivating Compassion
One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
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