Interrupted

My Life Thus Far
2015-03-16 05:24:00 (UTC)

Four Noble Truths

I read an interesting article today. It discussed the four noble truths in Buddhism (a philosophy I admire immensely and follow closely). Something the author shared, but I hadn't given much thought to, even though I've read and am familiar with the four noble truths, is the idea that life isn't supposed to always be happy. We aren't designed to live pain-free lives. Whether it be physical or mental, suffering is an integral part of living. We're never going to be completely free from it. The goal should be finding ways to embrace and appreciate the happiness that comes our way, embrace suffering in a way that teaches us to move beyond it, and to help alleviate the suffering of others (which in turn will help lift some of our own pain). I have no idea why this is making so much sense to me today (but hadn't occurred to me before). In case you were wondering what those four truths are:

THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS:
Life has inevitable suffering
There is a cause to our suffering
There is an end to our suffering
The Eightfold Path is the way to end suffering

Hint: desire is the root cause of most of our suffering. Wanting what we don't have, what others have, what we perceive as rightfully ours.

THE EIGHTFOLD PATH:
Right View
Right Intentions
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Concentration
Right Mindfulness

Of course there's more to the Buddhist practice than just knowing the noble truths and eightfold path. It has to be a daily practice. When I look back at my life over the past few years, I can definitely pinpoint the place in time where I stepped back from my practice. No surprise suffering quickly infiltrated...

This was helpful. Its one thing to know, it's another to put it into practice. I'm kind of excited about getting back into my meditation and finding some peace. I can already feel progress being made :)




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