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Suffering...an illusion?
Did Buddha say that suffering was an illusion? Could someone explain this to me? I'm a bit confused....
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You may get different answers depending on what tradition of Buddhism someone studies, so just keep that in mind when you read these relpies. That being said, I myself would say:
No, not to my knowledge. Suffering is just the word Dukkha, but poorly translated.
The Buddha once said:
"To one who experiences sensations, meditators, I teach the truth of dukkha, I teach the truth of the arising of dukkha, I teach the truth of the cessation of dukkha and I teach the truth of the path leading to the cessation of dukkha."
For a modern translation Dukkha is:
Disturbance, irritation, dejection, worry, despair, fear, dread, anguish, anxiety; vulnerability, injury, inability, inferiority; sickness, aging, decay of body and faculties, senility; pain/pleasure; excitement/boredom; deprivation/excess; desire/frustration, suppression; longing/aimlessness; hope/hopelessness; effort, activity, striving/repression; loss, want, insufficiency/satiety; love/lovelessness, friendlessness; dislike, aversion/attraction; parenthood/childlessness; submission/rebellion; decision/indecisiveness, vacillation, uncertainty.
— Francis Story in Suffering, in Vol. II of The Three Basic Facts of Existence (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1983)
Basically, dukkha is the stress, unsatisfactoriness, and other related characteristics that accompany anything that is conditioned. One who can experience sensations will experience phenomena as dukkha due to tahna (craving), which arises from avijja (not-knowing/ignorance). In the Pali Suttas the Buddha makes these three statements:
Sabbe sankhara anicca. (All compounds are transient/impermanent.)
Sabbe sankhara dukkha. (All compounds are unsatisfactory.)
Sabbe dhamma anatta. (All things are not selves.)
Dukkha is a reality, but it is a reality that can be transcended by following the Buddha's Path.
Jason
OK bad analogy, my bad.
The only illusion is that of the "Self". This illusion is caused by ignorance, we simply do not see the truth of paticca-samuppada (dependent co-arising). Using ajani_mgo's example of a car I will elaborate:
The idea of "car" as an illusion compared to the idea of "Self" as an illusion.
You have the illusion of "car", a whole and complete identity. But, what is this "car"? It is conditioned on many things - You have an engine, transmission, exhaust, interior, suspension, etc. And those things, what about them? They are made of other various parts and liquids and materials, which in turn are made up of even more things. Altogether you have a "car", but that "car" is not something which exists independently. Each condition must be present for there to even be something you can call a "car".
The same applys for us. We are not an independent, self-arising entity. We are a group of aggregates (constituting or amounting to a whole) that have arisen due to ripening, available conditions. The image of ourselves that we see, the completely whole "I", is illusionary. We cannot see beyond this sense of self.
Once this ignorance is removed we begin to see things as they are (reality) as opposed to how we perceive them (illusion).
The difficulty lies within being an objective observer and not a subjective one.
Jason
I: There is the cluster of clinging to Material Form (Rūpa):
Form or materiality is composed of these 4 Primary Elements:
1: Solidity based microscopically on the force of extension.
2: Fluidity based microscopically on the force of cohesion.
3: Heat based microscopically on the property of vibration.
4: Motion based microscopically on the property of energy.
From these 4 can be derived 24 other formed phenomena...
Whatever there are of formed things, whether past, present
or future, internal or external, fine or gross, high or low,
far or near, all that belongs to this form group. Desire, lust
craving & clinging to that, is the cluster of clinging to form!
II: There is the cluster of clinging to Mental Feeling (Vedanā):
There are these five kinds of Feeling:
1: Bodily pleasurable feeling and 2: Bodily painful feeling.
3: Mental happy feeling and 4: Mental unhappy feeling.
5: Indifferent feeling: Neither painful, pleasurable, sad nor glad.
Which each can be born of eye contact, or ear contact, or nose
contact, or tongue contact, or body contact or mental contact...
Whatever there is of feeling, whether past, present or future,
internal or external, fine or gross, high or low, far or near, all
that belongs to this feeling group. Desire, lust, & craving for and
clinging to these reactions, is the cluster of clinging to feeling!
III: There is the cluster of clinging to Mental Perception (Saññā):
There are these six kinds of Perception:
1: Visual perception of form & color. 2: Auditory perception of sound.
3: Olfactory perception of smell. 4: Gustatory perception of taste.
5: Tactile perception of touch. 6: Mental perception of ideas & states.
Whatever there is of perception, whether past, present or future,
internal or external, fine or gross, high or low, far or near, all
that belongs to this perception group. Desire, lust, craving for and
clinging to these experiences, is the cluster of clinging to perception!
IV: There is the cluster of clinging to Mental Construction (Sankhāra):
There are six kinds of mental construction dealing with visual objects,
or hearable objects, or smellable objects, or tastable objects, touchable
or mental objects. Whatever there is of mental construction, whether past,
present or future, internal or external, fine or gross, high or low, far or
near, all that belongs to this mental construction group. Desire, craving for
and clinging to these objectives, is the cluster of clinging to construction!
V: There is the cluster of clinging to Consciousness (Viññāna):
There are six kinds of consciousness:
1: Visual consciousness of seeing. 2: Auditory consciousness of hearing.
3: Olfactory consciousness of smelling. 4: Gustatory consciousness of tasting.
5: Tactile consciousness of touching. 6: Mental consciousness of thinking.
Whatever there is of consciousness, whether past, present or future, internal
or external, fine or gross, high or low, far or near, all that belongs to this
consciousness group. Desire, lust & craving for and clinging to this awareness,
is the cluster of clinging to consciousness!
The Blessed Buddha said:
Recluses & priests, who knows the causation, the ceasing, and the way leading
to the ceasing of these five clusters of clinging, who are practicing disgust
towards these, for their fading away and dissolution, they are practicing well!
They are later released and well liberated through this very non-clinging...
Those who are well liberated are consummate ones, completed ones...
There is no way of describing such utterly perfected ones...
There is nothing in this Universe apart from these 5 Clusters of Clinging...
~ Bhikkhu Samāhita, Sri Lanka.
All things which are learnt and not being realized by your true nature may not be true.
The Awakened One said that suffering is a Holy Truth. He did not say it was an illusion: go tell that to the cancer sufferer or the tortured in China, Abu Ghraib or anywhere. He said it was a teacher.
What matters is how we react to it. If we allow our suffering to overwhelm our compassion, we fall back into the trap that is samsara but, as long as we live, we will move between suffering and not suffering. Not for nothing is it the First of the Noble Truths.
At some levels of extreme heroism, it may be possible to separate ourselves from the experience of pain (see BSF's sig!) but, for most of us, the secret is not that it doesn't hurt, it is not minding.
The eighth volume of Great Concentration and Insight states: "Vimalakirti lay on his sickbed in Vai-shali, making his illness a pretext to promote the teachings . . . . Through his death, the Thus Come One taught the eternity [of life], and through illness, the power [of Buddhism]." It also says: "There are six causes of illness: (1) disharmony of the four elements; (2) improper eating or drinking; (3) inappropriate practice of seated meditation; (4) attack by demons; (5) the work of devils; and (6) the effects of karma."
I have come to understand that in a previous lifetime, I chose to have the karma to be born in this place, at this time, with everything being as it is in my life in order to propagate the Lotus Sutra. With this in mine, all suffering becomes nirvana. This is not to say I do not suffer, because as a human being it is my karma to do so. But, because I am aware of the purpose of all events in my life, I am learning to rejoice because it gives me the opportunity to show actual proof of the Lotus Sutra of Shakamuni as clarified by Nichiren.
We all suffer, it is the human condition We all know the story of Guatama prior to his seeking enlightenment. He traversed around the property seeing the truth of life thru the 4 gates which revealed, birth, oldage, sickness and death, he suffered for what he saw of his fellow humans and left his home to see the answer to these phenomena. In pursuit of knowledge for himself, he found this knowledge and made the cause to share it with all others, in this way potentially saving all living beings.
Most of us do not have the luxury of roaming around the countryside in contemplation until we attain enllightement, which during Shakyamuni's time took an entire life time. He prophisized that there would be three periods after his death: 1) the former day of the law, when his teachings would hold great benefit. 2) The middle day of the Law when his teachings would become ritualistic. 3) The Latter day of the Law, when the teaching for all mankind would be revived and bring benefit throughout eternity. Some say that these periods last anywhere from 500 to 1000 yrs and that 2500 yrs after his death would come one who would clarify the teaching for this Latter day of the law. Nichiren buddhist believe that Nichiren is this person.
Nichiren is a 13th century, Japanese buddhist monk. As was the custom of the time, he attended a buddhist monastary for his education. While there, at the age of 12, he determined to somehow find out why, although there were numerous buddhist sects, the people did not appear to recieve benefit from the teachings. He spent the majority of his life reviewing the buddhist teachings, and realized that this was the case becasue the time had changed and the teachings of Shakyamuni had been distorted. He debated with all the temples of the time and wrote letters to the head priest and goverment, refuting them all and showing documentary proof of the results of his study. He informed the government that until the temples stopped their slanderous approaches to shakyamuni's teachings that no benefit could be gained from following those temples, which included,Amida, True Word, Zen and other sects.
Not only this, he also declared that becasue the government supported these sects, that the entire country would be subjected to many disasters, including natural disasters, war, famine and internecine strife. Of course they refused, tried to behead him, exiled him twice to places that they expected him to die, persecuted his followers and the like. All of his prophesis were fulfilled.
Needless to say, according to nichiren's teachings, suffering is a direct result of the slander of the Wonderful Law of the Lotus Sutra as expounded by Shakyamuni. On the other hand, suffereing is also the opportunity to prove the power of this universal law in each persons daily life.
Sounds like Mormons in disguise.
Jason
No mention of bacteria, viruse, etc. as causative agents in disease? Accepting that Nichiren wrote long before the work of Louis Pasteur and, thus, had no idea of the microscopic, are you saying that Nichiren Buddhists must believe in demons and devils?