Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
Thoughts on Beginners and their undertaking of the 4NT
I was looking into the 4 noble truths, as everything in buddhism seems to be encompassed by it, and found where I myself had strayed the first time I had looked at it. It's not just beginners buddhism... I think it is often dismissed as such and people yearn for a deeper conversation.
Anyhow:
1. There is suffering.
2. There is a cause to suffering.
3. There is an end to suffering.
4. The eightfold path can end suffering.
For starters one must investigate suffering. Why is there suffering? How do they suffer? Etc. If one was to look at their own sufferings they would perhaps think: "/I/ suffered because I lost my car keys." or "/I/ suffered because I did not think I was good looking etc." and even "I suffer because I'm not as happy as I used to be." In the beginning with statements of your own accounts of suffering you can immediately see that for one you're clinging to a self. You view the world from a perspective of being the center of your own little universe. This isn't wrong, it is all you know likely. But this causes suffering as is evident: clinging to a self that is not stagnant, but rather always changing. Based on these accounts of your suffering, it is also clear that you're clinging to a world where change cannot possibly happen and everything should always remain the same. You should always be happy. You should never lose anything, etc. Then you look at "well why do I need to suffer from these?" There are ways out. You cannot cling to a world where everything is changing and has a start and a finish: impermanence. You cannot cling to a self who is in essence constantly changing; who is also impermanent; who characterizes ,and labels, and wants, and needs, and demands, and who thus creates a world based on their perception of it rather than what it really is. And then you can end suffering. You learn a way, you can follow the eightfold path.
-------------
The four noble truths is the first teaching of the buddha that is often learned by the beginner--and for good reason as it is for the most part all encompassing and a good introduction. However, the faults of learning this first is that people often jump into it too fast without completely understanding it. Most people don't go through the analysis of the 4 noble truths, but rather just take them as they are, then you follow it and rejoice in it's knowledge without truly understanding what the 4NT are indeed saying.
You start to think that you can never get mad. Then you get frustrated with yourself when you do get mad at somebody, you get mad that you allowed yourself to not be compassionate always and that you raised your voice, or maybe said something you regret. You feel the need to always be content... life is suffering, and you know this... so why allow it to affect you? Why not just be mindful and move past it all. And before you know it, you are in control of your own world, your emotions, your suffering, your mindfulness... and you think, perhaps "I have become such a good buddhist!" And you do all of this... but it's not until your later learnings that you understand why.
Maybe it is my own tainted perspective of beginner buddhists(and congrats if this is not you), but it seems a lot follow into buddhism for a good while in this pattern rather than confronting the reasons as to why we suffer. The buddha said to question everything and to understand it. Rather than just taking the teaching and learning why we suffer, put it into practice in your own life. With the method listed above, it is following buddhism with the expectations that you SHOULD always be content and/ or happy. But this isn't a demand, it is an effect of following buddhism and understanding the true nature of suffering. Rather than trying to simply eliminate suffering, push it off as unnecessary, one must go farther into it buddhism and understand the nature of suffering. Patience. Take it slow. While showing compassion is good, there should be a reason you show compassion, rather than it being what you think buddhists are supposed to do.
There isn't a set list of "All Buddhists Should Act This Way". Everyone has their own interpretations and their own understanding. Be slow with it. Take the time to see suffering in your own life and understand your own behavior and thus how this mind you have created fits and responds to the world. Don't just react, act. With practice patience will come, and you won't get angry... but not because you don't feel that you shouldn't be angry as a buddhist, but because you don't feel a need to. Don't grasp onto your anger and try to push it to the back, understand it! Why did it arise? What caused it? And then look at what caused it and understand your own grasping with that.
-------------
Any thoughts on this? Just from what I have observed with beginner buddhists.
With metta,
Ash
Anyhow:
1. There is suffering.
2. There is a cause to suffering.
3. There is an end to suffering.
4. The eightfold path can end suffering.
For starters one must investigate suffering. Why is there suffering? How do they suffer? Etc. If one was to look at their own sufferings they would perhaps think: "/I/ suffered because I lost my car keys." or "/I/ suffered because I did not think I was good looking etc." and even "I suffer because I'm not as happy as I used to be." In the beginning with statements of your own accounts of suffering you can immediately see that for one you're clinging to a self. You view the world from a perspective of being the center of your own little universe. This isn't wrong, it is all you know likely. But this causes suffering as is evident: clinging to a self that is not stagnant, but rather always changing. Based on these accounts of your suffering, it is also clear that you're clinging to a world where change cannot possibly happen and everything should always remain the same. You should always be happy. You should never lose anything, etc. Then you look at "well why do I need to suffer from these?" There are ways out. You cannot cling to a world where everything is changing and has a start and a finish: impermanence. You cannot cling to a self who is in essence constantly changing; who is also impermanent; who characterizes ,and labels, and wants, and needs, and demands, and who thus creates a world based on their perception of it rather than what it really is. And then you can end suffering. You learn a way, you can follow the eightfold path.
-------------
The four noble truths is the first teaching of the buddha that is often learned by the beginner--and for good reason as it is for the most part all encompassing and a good introduction. However, the faults of learning this first is that people often jump into it too fast without completely understanding it. Most people don't go through the analysis of the 4 noble truths, but rather just take them as they are, then you follow it and rejoice in it's knowledge without truly understanding what the 4NT are indeed saying.
You start to think that you can never get mad. Then you get frustrated with yourself when you do get mad at somebody, you get mad that you allowed yourself to not be compassionate always and that you raised your voice, or maybe said something you regret. You feel the need to always be content... life is suffering, and you know this... so why allow it to affect you? Why not just be mindful and move past it all. And before you know it, you are in control of your own world, your emotions, your suffering, your mindfulness... and you think, perhaps "I have become such a good buddhist!" And you do all of this... but it's not until your later learnings that you understand why.
Maybe it is my own tainted perspective of beginner buddhists(and congrats if this is not you), but it seems a lot follow into buddhism for a good while in this pattern rather than confronting the reasons as to why we suffer. The buddha said to question everything and to understand it. Rather than just taking the teaching and learning why we suffer, put it into practice in your own life. With the method listed above, it is following buddhism with the expectations that you SHOULD always be content and/ or happy. But this isn't a demand, it is an effect of following buddhism and understanding the true nature of suffering. Rather than trying to simply eliminate suffering, push it off as unnecessary, one must go farther into it buddhism and understand the nature of suffering. Patience. Take it slow. While showing compassion is good, there should be a reason you show compassion, rather than it being what you think buddhists are supposed to do.
There isn't a set list of "All Buddhists Should Act This Way". Everyone has their own interpretations and their own understanding. Be slow with it. Take the time to see suffering in your own life and understand your own behavior and thus how this mind you have created fits and responds to the world. Don't just react, act. With practice patience will come, and you won't get angry... but not because you don't feel that you shouldn't be angry as a buddhist, but because you don't feel a need to. Don't grasp onto your anger and try to push it to the back, understand it! Why did it arise? What caused it? And then look at what caused it and understand your own grasping with that.
-------------
Any thoughts on this? Just from what I have observed with beginner buddhists.
With metta,
Ash
0
Comments
1Poverty exists
2Poverty has causes
3 eliminate the causes of poverty and...
4Poverty ceases to be
or
1War exists
2War has causes
3 eliminate the causes of war and...
4 War ceases to be
etcetcetc
The correct question to the 1st NT should be : What is suffering? What constitutes suffering? What are the different types of suffering? Am I suffering even when I don't feel like I am suffering?
All these questions will naturally lead to the 2nd NT. And the natural questions would then be: What are the causes of suffering? Why do we suffer? Does everyone suffer the same way? How does each individual experience suffering differently?
Wiich would lead to the 3rd and 4th NT, where we should ask: How do we end the suffering we experience, and how do we apply the Noble Eightfold Path into our lives.
Sometimes it makes a whole lot of difference when we ask the wrong questions at the wrong time.
2attachment has causes
3eliminate the causes of attachment and..
4 attachment ceases to be
and so on, its quite useful, and VERY logical, maybe spock would like it!
When you give the wrong question, you will end up confused. because the answers are all over the place.