As I understand, the Buddha said life is suffering or something like that, he said that because he saw hunger, disease, old age and death on the one hand and on the other the frantic action of the dualistic mind to obtain pleasure and to avoid pain. As when one say suffering is depressing lets call it displeasure.
He saw that pleasure and pain were two sides of the same coin, a way of qualifying phenomena relative to something, the same case with ugly and beautiful good and bad etc. He understood the futility of wanting to find only pleasure and not pain because pleasure and pain are inseparables so when one find pleasure, pain cames with it. As when one feels proud and on top of the world because of having a new car and one sees a few days later that one's neighbor got a more expensive one, or someone winning a race and feeling proud while at the same time having the thought , I was just on the last drop or air I could have lost very easily. So that is the suffering he is talking about, the more one run after pleasure the more pain one finds. So he finds awakening or the way of functioning in the middle way with no pain and no pleasure, in that state, the mind is at peace and because of that, is really happy ,happy for nothing, naturally happy and compassionate which is call "basic goodness" as opposite as being happy for something which would last only an instant. In that state one would do things because one see them as necessary, one could buy a new car because the old one is worn out not because one has low self esteem and wants to feel more valuable. There it is when one see things as they are, not being good or bad ,just being, because of that we just are, or better said because we just are (no qualifying ego) things just are (no good and no bad). One can Imagen what happen to fear, disease, old age and death when there is no one qualifying them as good or bad. In reality there is still one, qualifying, but it just steer the mind in a direction without making dualistic conclusions. So as I understand, Buddhist practice is directed at reducing or eliminate ego and realizing the middle way when in an awakened state. Metta Carlos ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts! http://us.click.yahoo.com/UwRTUD/UOnJAA/i1hLAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
