This is actually the number one question I always get from my new students.
People frown upon the idea of suffering, therefore they have trouble admitting that it is ubiquitous and pervasive. Yes, of course, there is ample evidence that suffering is happening all over the place, but if only we apply ourselves, if the cooler heads would prevail, we could lick it. In other words, people strongly believe that rational component of the human mind is way stronger than the irrational component. And the rational component will eventually prevail. The Buddha wasn't that gullible. He knew that, as long as the irrational, hidden driving forces remain uncovered, they will continue to create havoc in our lives. Many of my students come to the practice with the desire to get sedated. This is actually the number one religion in the world today: how to get sedated. The easiest way, of course, is by swallowing/injecting pharmaceutical substances/drugs. But, people are wary of side effects, of ugly hangovers, of getting addicted and having to subsequently deal with painful detox procedures. It seems much better, much more noble, to get sedated by joining some exalted spiritual practice. But what people don't realize at first is how disruptive the Buddhist practice actually is. When push comes to shove (and sooner or later it invariably does), the boys promptly leave without looking back, and the men stay. The Buddhist practice is anti-sedative. It shakes you abruptly and violently, it wakes you up. The Buddha himself said on more than one ocassion that the biggest problem is that deluded people tend to take what is impermanent for permanent, what is painful as pleasurable. I suspect your wife fell into that trap, simply because she tends to cling very intensely to the fleeting manifestations of the seemingly solid world around her. My answer to that same question, which I get over and over at the start of each new course, is that no unenlightened person in the world can take pleasure in the fact that pretty soon they will die. No matter how fortunate or lucky you may be in your present situation, the undeniable fact is that pretty soon it'll all be history. How can you claim that there is no suffering when you're on such a slippery slope? On 11/21/05, jittoku0 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Dear Members, > I am new to this group and the reason I joined is that I am having a > dharma problem I'd like to discuss. > I am aware of the fact that this may not really be a Zen problem > because Zen masters do not like theory. I would therefore accept my > question to be rejected. > > I told my wife about the Buddha's teachings and about his basic > doctrine that all existence is suffering. > > She did not agree with this: "Why is all existence suffering? This is > a negative assumption. You may as well say that the circle of samsara > is a circle of joy and happiness in which the individual can become > better and better. From this point of view, the samsara is a chance > and any wish to end it is absurd." > > Well, actually, I do not know about any text that discusses this > approach. Does anybody know? On the other hand, this objection must > have come up in the history of Buddhism because at least in Mahayana, > as far as I know, several schools say "This very world, this is Nirvana". > > Of course, the historic Buddha has developed his dharma because he > started out with this negative view of the world, otherwise he would > not have become the Buddha but would have stayed a prince. According > to the legend, the reason for the negative judgement on the world were > his three excursions and the experience of the orgy at the palace. > Moreover, I have learned that the perception of a negative circle of > rebirthings had been part of Indian culture for centuries, and Buddha > was not the first to seek a way out of it. > > Gasshoo, Kai > > > > > > > > > > Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 1.2 million kids a year are victims of human trafficking. Stop slavery. http://us.click.yahoo.com/WpTY2A/izNLAA/yQLSAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi 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/
