Monday, June 17, 2024

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right View: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering

 


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RIGHT VIEW
Understanding the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering
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)
Reflection
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. 

Daily Practice
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.  

Tomorrow: Cultivating Compassion
One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering

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