dukka (sp?)

Discussion in 'Eastern Philosophy' started by Tnerb, Jul 22, 2008.

  1. Tnerb Banned Banned

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    As a new and practicing member of the religion buddhism, I am naturally confused of the first noble truth, and that is that all of life is suffering. And I come to consider that I must realize this according to their principals, and it is very difficult to imagine how life is suffering. From which perspective is it that I must consider that life is suffering.

    How am I to realize this first noble truth?
     
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  3. Tnerb Banned Banned

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    frm esanga:
    Hello tnerb, Fédé, all,

    The Buddha taught that 'There is Suffering and Dissatisfaction'.

    He did not teach that Life is Suffering.

    Seeing the Dukkha in the world doesn't mean that you do not enjoy pleasant activities. It simply means that you realise they are impermanent and, while enjoying them you don't become addicted to them.

    Life Isn't Just Suffering by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
    You've probably heard the rumor that "Life is suffering" is Buddhism's first principle, the Buddha's first noble truth. It's a rumor with good credentials, spread by well-respected academics and Dharma teachers alike, but a rumor nonetheless.
    http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors...o/lifeisnt.html

    metta
    cooran
     
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  5. S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    Basically Gautama was brought up in luxury in a palace. He had never seen disease, death and the vagaries of age [the last seems odd, surely there were older people in the palace? perhaps they meant the difficulties of old age, which they would have been protected from in the palace]. He realised that his reality is an illusion, that there is a lot more "out there". Since not everyone is born a prince, he soon came to the realisation that for the majority of people in the world, life is dissatisfaction. He called this dissatisfaction as suffering, because he also came to realise that luxury is a perspective, relative to what someone else has.
     
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  7. lepustimidus Banned Banned

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    I remember a Sri Lankan housemate of mine who was Buddhist. I pointed out that she should give me her laptop, since attachment to material things leads to dukkha (suffering). I think I earnt a lot of karma that day, offering to relieve her of her suffering while adding to my own.
     
  8. grazzhoppa yawwn Valued Senior Member

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    Suffering is meant to describe the feeling of loss, abandonment, isolation, or yearning that a person gets when something they desire ceases to exist in their possession - this is applied to both material possessions and feelings.

    "Life is suffering" because a person always wants at least one thing to continue to exist forever yet nothing does last forever.

    Suffering is a technical term in Buddhism - it has more subtle meaning and intricacy than how the word "suffering" is used in everyday conversation. It is not excruciating pain or mental affliction, but rather all degrees of disappointment, sadness, or feelings of loss that a person experiences almost constantly.

    Suffering describes the moment you finish dinner but desire more of a tasty food, or when even when you feel a breeze in very hot weather that suddenly stops. It also describes the suffering that falls under the conventional usage like torture, physical pain, etc. - but these conventional "sufferings" are hardly a concern for most people. Buddhists generally focus on the "mundane" sufferings because those are the ones that we don't even realize: we don't take note when we actually "suffer," which, when remedied, is part of the path towards enlightenment.

    Realizing that you are "suffering" because you desire something that ceases to exist is what the 1st Noble Truth is about. Are you wanting me to continue to write about this? If so, that is suffering for you because I have stopped yet you continue to desire more.​
     

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