Understanding suffering

Those who follow the Buddha Dharma should first understand suffering through their own experience. Only through realisation of the true nature of life’s suffering will we be able to seek liberation. Only through rational analysis can we give rise to true stable renunciation. If we can find a safe haven in samsara, then we can stay there forever, with no need to seek liberation. Since there is no such safe haven within samsara, there is no place with eternal happiness. Everywhere samsara is full of suffering, so it is necessary to practice the Buddha Dharma.

The suffering and pain taught in the Buddha Dharma are not only those that are obvious, personal, and easily recognisable, they also include the suffering manifested by clinging to a truly existing self. There are three types of sufferings taught in the Buddha Dharma: suffering upon suffering, suffering of change, suffering of everything composite. The suffering upon suffering is the physical and psychological experiences of pain and suffering that are obvious. The suffering of change is the experience of suffering when a pleasant state ends. The suffering of everything composite is an experience of pain and suffering that pervades all existence, because everything is an endless stream of change, within which present experiences constantly produce causes of future suffering, are impermanent, and without any inherent existence.

All compounded things are impermanent, all emotions are suffering, all phenomena are empty and lacking in a separate self and nirvana is beyond conception. These four truths are the standard against which we can distinguish the true Buddha Dharma. They are called the Four Seals and are used to examine whether Dharma is true or false. All emotions are suffering means that suffering arises because all beings are attached to the five aggregates. They commit various positive or negative deeds due to the defilements of craving and aversion. From karma, the illusion of the Six Realms arises. The five aggregates are the basis of the three types of suffering: suffering upon suffering, suffering of change, suffering of everything composite. All sufferings are perceived by the five aggregates, which are contaminated or stained, in the sense of being permeated by confusion or duality. Therefore, it is stated that all emotions are suffering.

Everything and all phenomena are constantly in the process of change – forming, dwelling, decaying, and ceasing. However, because sentient beings do not accept this truth but wish to live in an eternal, real world, they cling to the concept of a separate self and a truly existing environment. What they wish for is an unchanging, truly existing physical world. The result is that they generate suffering by trying to hold onto something that is impermanent and cannot be grasped. The craving, hatred, ignorance, jealousy, pride, and wrong view continuously create negative emotions, such as anxiety, grief, fear, and sadness. It makes us prisoners of ignorance and we dwell continuously in the ocean of sufferings: suffering upon suffering, suffering of change, suffering of everything composite and, based on our karma, we wander on to our next lives, unable to liberate ourselves.

All in all, no matter where sentient beings end up in the six realms of the endless cycle of existence, they cannot escape the nature of suffering, unable to transcend the reaches of suffering, like a prisoner who cannot control his fate. As stated in a sutra, “There is no peace in the three worlds, which resemble a fiery residence.”

An in-depth understanding of the suffering in samsara is the basis for entering the Buddha Dharma. Whether we are a Theravada or Mahayana practitioner, we should first recognise that the very existence of ourselves is not reliable, understand our own suffering, and hence understand the suffering of all sentient beings in the six realms. In this way the true desire for liberation will arise. If we do not recognise that the nature of life is suffering, impermanent, full of defilements, we will not give rise to renunciation towards our revolving existence within the six realms. On the contrary, we may think that life on earth is pleasant, desperately pursuing worldly success, and then be reluctant to leave. In this case there is no chance of liberating ourselves from samsara.

This chapter is part of: Introduction Course - Part 1: Renunciation