My understanding of Dukka and suffering

[shivatar]

dukka doesn't mean suffering in the physical way. When we work hard and our body hurts, that is physical suffering. Dukka is existential suffering. When we want something that cannot be had, that is dukka. If we want to see our self as brad pitt but the mirror is gary busey, that is dukka, a difference between expectation and reality.

Everything in this world is Dukka because we want to understand our self, we want enlightenment, and nothing in this world will show us that directly. There are many spiritual practices to help us understand our self and let go of our attachments to the world but thats as close as we get. If there was such a sure-fire method for enlightenment (experiential knowledge of self) then we'd all know about it and we'd have a lot of enlightened people!

Dukka essentially means nothing in this world can satisfy us in the lasting way. Everything that we crave in the world will only give us attachment and ego, it will give us a roller coaster of emotion but it won't give us a lasting high.

Life is dukka, means that life is not what it seems. If we did everything we wanted to in life it still wouldn't satisfy in the long and lasting way like enlightenment would. This is because enlightenment is an internal and silent realization, it can be aided by the world but it doesn't come from the world.

In the eyes of the Buddha, dukkha means 'to bear with’. Any circumstances that would involve one to continue with; to persevere with; to soldier on with; to carry on with; to undertake with; to go through with would mean dukkha or suffering. In the Buddhist context, dependent nature is known as samsāra. Samsāra literally means ‘continuous flow’- referring to a repeating cycle of birth, life, death and re-birth. When there is samsāra arising, dukkha would arise concurrently.

Literally, it is not correct for one to put much attention onto the conditions of pain, anxiety, agony, dissatisfaction, joyfulness or happiness - for these conditions merely reflected as the consequences of dukkha arising. To ‘bear with’ is to suffer and the antonym of it is to ‘let go.’ So stop submitting oneself to the conditional circumstances and one would be freed, be liberated and be neutralised! Let us cure the cause, not the symptoms!

[sky]

Buddha taught that there are three types of Dukkha, the ' Dukkhata Sutta ' is worth reading if you want to understand what 'Dukkha' really means in Buddhism.

[sky]

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/d...a1/dukkha.html


The above contains links to Sutta's regarding 'Dukkha '

[Tirisilex]

If he didnt teach how to deal with Physical pain how come I saw a video of a Buddhist having Brain surgery without anesthesia.. or that monk in Vietnam who burned himself to death and didnt even flinch or scream out in pain? Physical pain is a part of the pains that the Buddhas taught to remedy.

[Silver]

Shivatar, I don't think that's a bad understanding, as far as understandings go, but my brief and not so deep study of Buddha and Buddhism leads me to believe that any and all suffering is ... it's all in there. One doesn't happen without the other in most cases, I believe. Human suffering, but yeah that's where I think you're more right than wrong: when the emotions come into play.

[Elohim]

The real teaching of GAUTAMA the Buddha is observe your breath and know yourself, like all religions "Message is lost" even here .

he is the one to give the world the beauty of ANAPANASATI

Meditate by observing your breath, when you are with the breath , the mind becomes empty

No money involved
Google Pyramid Meditation , it just observing your Breath

[sky]

Originally Posted by Elohim

The real teaching of GAUTAMA the Buddha is observe your breath and know yourself, like all religions "Message is lost" even here .

he is the one to give the world the beauty of ANAPANASATI

Meditate by observing your breath, when you are with the breath , the mind becomes empty

No money involved
Google Pyramid Meditation , it just observing your Breath

Are you just advertising ?

[Bohdiyana]

Originally Posted by Elohim

Meditate by observing your breath, when you are with the breath , the mind becomes empty

I'm not sure that would result in an empty mind since you are thinking about observing the breath. Then also you are thinking about an empty mind. Now if you could drop these as well perhaps you would be closer to an empty mind.

Originally Posted by Elohim

The real teaching of GAUTAMA the Buddha is observe your breath and know yourself, like all religions "Message is lost" even here .

he is the one to give the world the beauty of ANAPANASATI

Meditate by observing your breath, when you are with the breath , the mind becomes empty

No money involved
Google Pyramid Meditation , it just observing your Breath

Though the ananpanasati is teaching mindfulness of breathing as one of the 3 trainings. It focuses on concentration samatha.

Originally Posted by satipatanna

"Mindfulness of in-&-out breathing, when developed & pursued, is of great fruit, of great benefit. Mindfulness of in-&-out breathing, when developed & pursued, brings the four frames of reference to their culmination. The four frames of reference, when developed & pursued, bring the seven factors for awakening to their culmination. The seven factors for awakening, when developed & pursued, bring clear knowing & release to their culmination.

He also designated the sattipatana sutta as a direct path, which encompasses the foundations of mindfulness. In my understanding that focuses moreon insight vipassana

Originally Posted by satipatanna

"This is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow & lamentation, for the disappearance of pain & distress, for the attainment of the right method, & for the realization of Unbinding — in other words, the four frames of reference. Which four?

So there's that.

With love
Eelco