A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
We
must be willing to not be so sure about who we are, what we’re here to
do, and why. And we have to let go of the belief that what we can see
and touch and name is more real and more relevant than what’s not
visible.
How
many temples are there in Thailand? How high is the tallest temple?
Take a look at our latest "Buddhism by the Numbers," this one set in the
Land of Smiles.
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 visual forms as they actually are, then
one is attached to visual forms. 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
Once you have
recognized an aspect of suffering in your own lived experience, the next
step is to come to understand that it has a specific origin. All
suffering is rooted in some form of craving or attachment, some wanting
for things to be different than they are. The senses are not entirely
passive, but "reach out" in some way to pursue the objects (in this case
sights) that it favors and avoid those with which it is not
comfortable.
Daily Practice
The Buddhist
approach to suffering is not theoretical or conceptual but profoundly
experiential. We will explore the origin of suffering by reviewing each
of the senses in turn, looking for a particular cause of a particular
instance of suffering. We easily become attached to and infatuated with
visual forms and yearn to see some things and not others. Look in your
own experience for the tendency to favor some sights over others.
Tomorrow: Cultivating Compassion One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
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