[2.52] The Second Noble Truth – The Truth Of Why We Suffer

You NEED to see this LARGE and against BLACK! Click the picture or press L!

 

Last week’s shot represented the First Noble Truth of Suffering, where we recognise that our lives aren’t perfect and that throughout our existence, we experience quite a bit of dissatisfaction. From our birth to our inevitable death, like butterflies we hop endlessly from one flower to another looking for fulfillment, but fail to find it.

 

But why? We do we suffer in this way?

 

The Second Noble Truth, the Truth of Origin provides a one word answer to the question: ‘ignorance’.

 

This isn’t ignorance in terms of not being good at mathematics or not knowing how to bake a cake; rather we are blinded by an ignorance of the way phenomena exist in reality.

 

In our daily lives, we see things as so permanent and solid. Because of this we work so hard to obtain the latest gadgets, the most beautiful partner and as much wealth as we can. Let’s take me and my partner as an example. Oh, how I love him! Not only that but I feel like it’ll last forever, and I want it to as well. But in reality the feelings I have for him (or vice versa!) might change. Lovers change. Friends become enemies. Nothing is permanent, and everything is in a constant state of flux. But we don’t realise this, and when the relationship ends, or the iPad breaks, the tears roll.

 

We also don't understand how phenomena arise, which is through dependent origination And yet there is no phenomenon in existence that is not the result of dependent origination – that all results must have a cause. We continue to see things as extremely concrete and independent, which causes attachment and aversion to arise. Take a nice camera. I don’t just see a nice camera, I see a beautiful, independent, permanent, concrete, expensive camera. Oh, and it’ll make me happy too! Or someone who offends me. UGH! Instead of just a person, I see an evil, horrible, mean eternal archenemy out to get me.

 

But things aren’t like that, they aren’t concrete or permanent. Your worst enemy becomes a best friend. Countries at war become countries helping each other through economic turmoil. Nice cameras become old, useless, rusty cameras.

 

Without an understanding of impermanence and dependent origination, our deluded minds react to experiences verbally, physically and mentally in thirsty ( ‘thirst’ or ‘tanha’ in Pali) ways – where we crave for something, where we crave for more, and where we crave for less. The suffering is not the beautiful thing itself, it's our craving to it.

 

As long as this deluded mind is present, there is no escape from this cycle.

 

Matt

 

 

If you’d like to find out more about this photo, with tips on how I achieved it, and to see the original shot, as well as for further discussion on the ideas involved, you can pop over to the Samsara Nirvana 52 Week Project blog.

You can also follow updates on Twitter and of course my Facebook Page.

 

Done