There is only one problem in the world...
mindatrisk
Veteran
(This is a piece i'm working on for magazine. I thought i'd share it here since it is basically Buddhism)
There is only one problem in this world.
One problem that unites every single human being. One problem from which every other problem arises…
We do not know how to be happy.
And, to make things worse, the things we think we need to do to make us happy actually lead to suffering, and, well, that kind of strings a little. Hence this world.
Our thinking is mistaken. We think ‘if things go my way then I will be happy’… ‘if I get what I want then I will be happy’… ‘if everyone treats me well then I will be happy’.
The problem here is that not one person in the history of humanity has ever had everything go their way, or even a large proportion. No-one has ever got everything they wanted, or even close, and no-one has ever had everyone treat them how they think they’d like to be treat. These options simply do not exist. So, to pip our dreams of happiness upon them is kind of stupid. It could almost be said that the reason we are not happy is because we are trying to be happy.
The problem with desiring things to be a certain way for us to be happy is that the seeming palace of fulfilled desires is riddled with booby traps. Think about it…
Let’s say you want something, but you can’t have it for whatever reason. What happens? You experience suffering… longing, frustration, upset, anger etc.
Let’s say you want something and you get it. What happens? You worry about it breaking or it being lost and, so, you are experiencing suffering, i.e. worry, anxiety, tension etc.
Let’s say you want something and you get it and then it is broken or lost. What happens? You feel angry about it breaking and, so, you are experiencing suffering, i.e. anger, resent etc.
Let’s say you want something and you get it but it doesn’t turn out to be as good as you’d hoped for. What happens? You feel frustrated about it and, so, you are experiencing suffering, i.e. frustration, disappointment etc.
Let’s say you want something and you get it and it isn’t lost or broken and it is as good as you’d hoped for. What happens? You lose interest and begin to want something else, and, so, the cycle of desire leading to suffering begins again.
In fact, the very best that can come from this is that we want something, we get it, it isn’t lost or broken, it is as special as we’d hoped for, and we don’t lose interest in it. What happens then? We become so attached to this amazing thing that, whether we ever lose it or not, we still fear it being lost, broken etc. and, so, we experiencing suffering, i.e. fear, worry, anxiety etc.
There is no way to win this game. Either way you turn, your desires can only lead to suffering. Our desires can lead to momentary pleasure, and, sometimes, that pleasure can be well extended, but there is no way to avoid the absolute truth that in-built into every desire is the inevitable experience of suffering.
So, what is the solution? Are we meant to never desire anything? How would we grow or develop? Isn’t it desire that drives us forward? Isn’t it desire that makes us accomplish things and become better people? Yes, it is. The point is not to not desire, but not to rest your happiness on fulfilling your desires. Desire what you wish, enjoy it for what it is, don’t attach yourself to it, don’t depend upon it for you to be happy, and then whatever becomes of that desire is okay. If it breaks, okay. If it is lost, okay. If you lose interest, okay. If it turns out to be rubbish, okay. If it turns out to be amazing, okay.
If you want lasting happiness then enjoy whatever is happening. It’s going to happen anyway, so you can either enjoy it or not enjoy it, and, since, enjoyment is more enjoyable than not enjoyment, it makes sense to just enjoy whatever. There are many techniques to enjoy whatever is happening to us. One simple technique is to compare our situation to that of others. For example, you might be stuck in terrible traffic, but at least you’re not in a war zone or starving to death somewhere. You can also find things to be grateful for in your situation. For example, you are stuck in traffic but thankfully you have some awesome tunes to put on, or, you have some free time to do some work, or whatever. It is not the world that restricts or harms our experience of reality, it is our attitude… the way we choose to see things. Once we realise that we have the power and freedom to see the world in any which way we desire then we can begin to experience whatever life it is we wish to experience, and, i’m guessing, that is a happy one.
Now, think about all of this this carefully, because, Western capitalist society is built upon a lifestyle of desiring things and then working to get them, and yet, as we can see from the above, that whole lifestyle can only lead to suffering, with the very best we can hope for being that we experience some pleasure before the suffering comes. That is the very foundation of our society… and it shows! Look at us! Everything is a mess. We are a mess. No wonder that people are driven insane, no wonder that people are desperate, no wonder that so many people are depressed… the very thing that is supposed to lead us to happiness is actually the very thing that leads to suffering… FUCK! And this is the very root of all our problems. Please, analyse this. Look at your lifestyle. Look at what you want right now and how it causes you suffering. Look at all the things you’ve wanted and gotten, and how that has brought you suffering.
This is the key to everything… everything. The future of our planet depends utterly and totally on our understanding this. This cannot be understated… it can be misunderstood, it can be denied, it can be ridiculed, it can be unappreciated, but it remains our only salvation.
Analyse this. Critique it. Think deeply about how this relates to your life and to our world. Think about how this relates to war, to poverty, to the economy, to theft, to murder, to rape, to greed, to pollution… think carefully about every major and minor problem in the world and you will see that it comes back to this.
Comments
theres a typo near the beginning 'that kind of STRINGS a little'
there's
Good catch on the strings though!
..."how they'd like to be treatED."
The reason we don't know how to be happy is because we don't know ourselves.
Only because we believe all the lies we tell ourselves is there a problem.
If everybody would just ask themselves who they are, really. We might find out who or what wants to be happy.
But every time you ask this question there is a blank.
Who we think we are is a theory that can not stand up to observation.
Find out who we are, because right now we don't even know who is looking for happiness.
The poor man keeps on searching, while not letting himself see. And the rich man keeps on wanting to buy that which is absolutely free...
@mindatrisk
Have you considered comparing your post against the four Noble truths?
What do you mean?
@mindatrisk
Analyse this. Critique it. Think deeply about how this relates to your life and to our world. Think about how this relates to war, to poverty, to the economy, to theft, to murder, to rape, to greed, to pollution… think carefully about every major and minor problem in the world and you will see that it comes back to this.
Just wondering what you thought the 4 noble truths and eight fold path say?
Why? What is you'd like me to do? Recite them? Copy and paste them? I don't understand your query.
No, I think what he's saying is that the 4 Noble Truths/8Fold path say all this already, so you could have used them as a pointer....
Oh, right. I see. The reason it has no reference to Buddhism is because it is being written as secular. I think references to Buddhism would be obstacles for a lot of people... Christians, Muslims, atheists, who would otherwise benefit greatly from the wisdom outlined. I should have stated that in an intro.
I've also shared the opening post in the UK Business Forums. You can join in or observe if you like here:
http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/threads/there-is-only-one-problem-in-the-world.344597/#post-2555416
It's a really worthwhile exercise discussing these subjects with people with very different views because they ask different questions and make unexpected points. I find it very helpful.
I like it. May I make one suggestion? Sprinkle your analysis with some real-world examples of what you're talking about. People understand your point better if you paint a picture of a child anticipating birthday presents, then the rush of happiness at getting it, followed by the letdown, etc. Just about any example of happiness versus unhappiness in action.
Great suggestion, thanks! It's something i'm guilty of a lot when writing just because I love ideas and exploring them much more than illustrating my points, but I know people sometimes need that illustration to flesh out an idea. Thank you.
Real world examples almost always work. But, as you noted earlier, attaching it to any religion will immediately result in many people turning off the message.
Well, yeah, the truth is the truth, and whilst Buddha taught the truth and was a true pioneer in many ways, he doesn't own the truth, and as much as i'd love to share this beautiful wisdom and credit Buddha, it really seems quite foolish to do so. If anyone took an interest and wanted to know more and asked me then i'd certainly at that point (having asked some questions) point them towards Buddhism.
The best thing it seems then is to try not to be the thing you think you need to be to happy...
But if trying not to be the thing you think you need to be to happy is not working you might want to try and think of something else...
Bioluminescent plankton helps me...
but other people have other ideas:
It's not easy reducing the problems of the world to just "one"
when to live such an understanding leaves no problem to count.
Yeah, exactly. As we all know here, attempting to fulfil our desires does not lead to happiness, so ending that pursuit sharpish is a good idea. Thereafter comes the sincere investigation. We are blessed to have had incredible teachings who have shown us A / The Way.
Yeah, great point, but maybe a little too big an idea to start with! But I agree. Once a certain understanding has been attained then it is clear that there are no problems.