Wolfram87 wrote:
Piobaire wrote:
No.
Buddhism 101 states that (1) there is suffering in the world, (2) suffering doesn't spring out of nowhere; it arises due to causes and conditions, (3) by addressing these causes and conditions, suffering can be ameliorated, (4) the way to do this is by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path (the Dharma).
Wasn't being terribly serious and obviously imprecise, but I was mainly thinking about the "life is suffering" quote.
I've been told that is somewhat of a mis-translation. The Sanskrit word 'dukkha' more nearly means a sense of dissatisfaction, or "unsatifactoriness". Obviously, not all of life is suffering; some of it is quite pleasant; even ecstatic. However, it is all impermanent, no matter how sincerely we might wish otherwise, the good times never last, so even the best things in life are "unsatisfactory" because they inevitably lead to a sense of loss.
We cling to what we find pleasant, desperately wanting it to last forever, and we resist the things which we find unpleasant, afraid that they will last forever. Nothing lasts forever. Therefore, no matter how good things may be, we're chronically dissatisfied; we suffer when we desire, expect, or demand that reality be anything other than precisely just as it is.
Last edited by Piobaire on 12 Mar 2019, 5:21 am, edited 1 time in total.