Overview of suffering in samsara

Cause and effect (continued)

A practitioner, who desires to curb afflictions through the path of Great Perfection, must regard cause and effect as the main focus. Practise the Dharma with both right view and right actions. We must never believe that our view is so profound that we do not place any emphasis on cause and effect, no matter how well we have practised. Be mindful anywhere, everywhere, all the time. Padmasambhava said, “My view is as vast as space,
my respect for cause and effect is as fine as flour.” Khenpo Anqiong Rinpoche taught us, “The infallibility of cause and effect is of utmost importance on the initial path of the three schools of thought. Take particular care in your choices with respect to cause and effect. Be cautious! Be careful!”

Even HH Lama Achuk Rinpoche, an enlightened master, is very careful regarding cause and effect, so we as normal beings should be too. He kept the precept of not eating after noon and not taking expensive offerings. HH Lama Achuk Rinpoche often told his students, “We should have integrity, do not act differently in different settings.” As a practitioner of the Great Perfection, if we take a nonchalant attitude toward cause and effect, do not adhere to the precepts, do not keep our vows, and only pursue profound wisdom, emptiness, and so on, we may not even obtain the merit of the human or god realm, and end up in the three lower realms.

As a consequence of good or evil deeds,
Cause and effect will follow our deeds,
Therefore give rise to the right view about cause and effect,
Have the aspiration of attaining the ultimate truth.

Suffering in samsara

The concept of samsara was discussed in the first chapter.

To achieve the goal of liberation from samsara, we should first understand the sufferings in samsara. If we have not contemplated the sufferings in samsara, we will not see the true nature of suffering, and therefore will not establish true renunciation mind. Hence, no matter how we practise, we will not escape from this life. Since we always care about our well-being in this life, we will not cut our ties, and we may waste the precious human life not achieving anything in terms of the Dharma.

Many people think that maybe there is not so much suffering in samsara? At least we feel good right now, why should we always look at samsara with a lot of negative thoughts? Let us rather enjoy the happiness we have at the moment. However, we must realise that the current happiness and joy is subject to changes every second and every minute. Who can guarantee that we will still be as happy tomorrow, next year, or in a hundred years from now? Even if your happiness and merit is like that of the god realm, you will still die one day. You will leave this earth alone. At that moment, no matter how comfortable your life, how intimate your friends and families, you have to leave them. You will depart without good food, good things to play with, a warm bed, or anyone to accompany you. You must go through the Bardos alone. Your karma will follow you like your shadow, and your fame, position, power, possessions, friends and families will not be of any help to you. The suffering of death is unimaginable. At that time, you will be so scared that you will not even have anywhere to call for help. So how will you deal with death at that moment? You are a logical person now, so if you know how to prepare for old age, why not prepare for the Bardos and for your lives to come?!

We should not worry and live life passively and negatively, contemplating the suffering of samsara. It is there to stimulate us to find the way forward. If we find out that we are trapped in samsara, reflect on the possibility of a way of escape from samsara. If we find a way to liberate ourselves from samsara, we will be like a prisoner who finds out there is a way to escape and take action immediately. Therefore we will not hesitate to study the Dharma of liberation. Therefore, contemplation of the sufferings in samsara is the first step to raising the renunciation mind.

The great teacher Lama Rinpoche often told students, “If the suffering in samsara is not all around us, then what is the benefit of practising the Buddha Dharma?”

The common sufferings of the six realms

The six realms are the god, asura, human, animal, hungry ghost, and hell realms. Since the six realms are the directions all sentient beings will follow due to their karma, they are also called the six directions. All six realms contain within them the nature of impermanence and suffering: no matter where sentient beings find themselves, they cannot escape from suffering and the lack of freedom. Like a bee trapped in a bottle, no matter how much it flies around, it will not escape from the bottle. Sometimes, people go to the god realm because of good deeds, sometimes people go to hell realm due to bad deeds. No matter which destination, they cannot escape from the prison of samsara.

All sentient beings endure the three sufferings

Our great teacher, HH Lama Rinpoche, said, “All sentient beings experience the three sufferings: the suffering upon suffering, the suffering of change, and the suffering of everything composite. The beings in the three lower realms experience long and harsh suffering, while the beings in the three higher realms experience suffering during death. These are sufferings that beings experience with their body or mind directly. The nature of such suffering is called the suffering of suffering. In samsara, there is sometimes happiness and joy, but they are subject to change. Beings suffer when they lose happiness and joy. This is called the suffering of change. All sentient beings are subject to the five aggregates. They are limited by many conditions, which include the suffering of suffering and the suffering of change. This experience is called suffering of everything composite. The three sufferings are experienced through the five aggregates. All beings, who have attachment to the five aggregates, are swimming in the ocean of suffering of suffering, suffering of change, and suffering of everything composite, without any control.

All sentient beings in samsara experience the following sufferings

All sentient beings in samsara face the nature of impermanence of everything in this world. Based on the merit of all sentient beings, we perceive the outer world, such as the four great continents, Mt Sumeru, the god realm and the solid Iron Mountain, as though they may exist in countless eons, but they will eventually be destroyed by seven fires and one flood. In history, all seven Buddhas and their companions went to nirvana. The teachings of the Buddha are gradually fading away, with only the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha still existing. The Mahabrahma, Sakra and other divya-manuṣyaka will not escape death, despite their long life. The king of kings, emperors, rich people, although they have significant status while in power, they will also face death. Our fragile bodies will disappear from this earth. All four seasons come gradually, yesterday and today, this morning and this evening, this year and next year, everything changes constantly. Families who had vast fortunes may become poor; people who suffered poverty may become powerful and rich. All our ancestors passed away. Siblings of the same age have also passed away. As it is stated in one of the sutras, when people are born, they will one day die. All accumulated wealth will disappear. Those who are together will part. Things piled up will fall over. When standing too high, one will fall.

Sentient beings are unable to control their own fate: they are pushed to their next lives in samsara by their own karma. Time and time again they die, and time and time again they experience the pain of birth and the pain of death. Sometimes they may obtain a precious human life, sometimes they may be an animal, sometimes they can be reborn in the god realm, sometimes they may descend into the hell realm. One cannot be certain who are family and who are enemies in samsara. This life’s close family might have been last life’s great enemy, while the main enemies of one’s last life may be close family members in this life. Past close friends become enemies; past enemies may become close friends. In The Words of my Perfect Teacher it is mentioned that while on his alms round, the Arhati Katyayana saw a man holding his son, who was eating a fish. A female dog came and stole the fish head, as a result of which the man hit the dog with a stone. Through his ability to perceive the situation clearly, Katyayana saw that the fish was the father and the dog was the mother of the man in their past lives. His enemy, who had killed him, was reborn as his son to repay the debt. After this observation, Katyayana said, “He ate his father’s flesh and hit his mother with a stone, while holding his enemy who killed him. The wife may now eat her husband’s bones. The functioning of samsara is a rare treasure.”

All good things in samsara cannot be possessed permanently. If we are born as humans, no matter how good the things we accumulated, we can only keep them until our death. Even if one is a king, or a god, he cannot eternally keep this status, he will eventually drop to the lower realms. The residence of sentient beings is also uncertain: no one can only exist in the human realm. When one dies, parents, friends and families, children, loved ones will all leave. One can only pass through the Bardos alone.

Sentient beings also suffer from the lack of satisfaction. Although we have experienced various joys in samsara, we may never feel content. We are dragged around by karma, being relentlessly controlled by it.

Six realms (already discussed)

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