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Thread: Buddha-Basics (Part I) — Scooby Dooby Dukkha

  1. #1

    Buddha-Basics (Part I) — Scooby Dooby Dukkha



    Were going to start a new series of 'Sit-a-Long with Jundo’s' on some fundamental Buddhist teachings — those things every Buddhist needs to know (and not know) — and maybe the most fundamental, insightful and elegant is the Buddha’s teaching of the Four Noble Truths, and Dukkha:

    So, what are the 'Four Noble Truths' (the Buddha's earliest teaching)?
    .
    Life often entails Dukkha; there is a cause for Dukkha; there is a way to the cessation of Dukkha; that way is the Noble Eightfold Path.

    So, what’s “Dukkha”? …and what does Dukkha do?

    No one English word captures the full depth and range of the Pali term, Dukkha. It is sometimes rendered as “suffering,” as in “life is suffering.” But perhaps it’s better expressed as “dissatisfaction,” “anxiety,” “disappointment,” “unease at perfection,” or “frustration” — terms that wonderfully convey a subtlety of meaning.

    In a nutshell, your “self” wishes this world to be X, yet this world is not X. The mental state that may result to the “self” from this disparity is Dukkha.
    .
    Shakyamuni Buddha gave many examples: sickness (when we do not wish to be sick), old age (when we long for youth), death (if we cling to life), loss of a loved one (as we cannot let go), violated expectations, the failure of happy moments to last (though we wish them to last). Even joyous moments — such as happiness and good news, treasure or pleasant times — can be a source of suffering if we cling to them, if we are attached to those things.

    In ancient stories, Dukkha is often compared to a chariot’s or potter’s wheel that will not turn smoothly as it revolves. The opposite, Sukkha, is a wheel that spins smoothly and noiselessly, without resistance as it goes.

    Fortunately, Shakyamuni Buddha also provided the Dukkha cure.

    CLICK HERE for today’s Sit-A-Long video.



    Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 15 to 35 minutes is recommended.
    Last edited by Jundo; 03-27-2015 at 03:47 AM.

  2. #2

    Re: Buddha-Basics (Part I) — Scooby Dooby Dukkha

    "In a nutshell, your “self” wishes this world to be X, yet this world is not X. The mental state that may result to the “self” from this disparity is Dukkha."

    Seeing and relinquishing this has been the basic practice I was taught all along in different traditions, and it has lead by and by to shikantaza as means-end. There is no other choice.





    BTW there seem to be few forum members posting in this section, so I hope it is kosher to do so.

  3. #3

    Re: Buddha-Basics (Part I) — Scooby Dooby Dukkha

    Quote Originally Posted by Kojip
    "In a nutshell, your “self” wishes this world to be X, yet this world is not X. The mental state that may result to the “self” from this disparity is Dukkha."

    Seeing and relinquishing this has been the basic practice I was taught all along in different traditions, and it has lead by and by to shikantaza as means-end. There is no other choice.





    BTW there seem to be few forum members posting in this section, so I hope it is kosher to do so.
    Completely Kosher, and resulting in no dissatisfaction, anxiety or disappointment. 8)

    Gassho, J

  4. #4

    Re: Buddha-Basics (Part I) — Scooby Dooby Dukkha

    I can't believe I'm just now getting to these. Thank you so much Jundo!

  5. #5
    Thank you very much Jundo! It was very helpful for me to sit with that.

    Pleasant situations are more easy to accept and to allow, perhaps also because of this everyone tries to create pleasant situations, sometimes also in very artificial ways, like in holidays in some kind of artificial "paradies". But there never can be a real happiness, if you can't also accept the unpleasant situations, because there is no way of getting away from them...

    So in pleasant situations I sometimes think: Yes, you made it, now you can accept every situation. A few weeks later (or sometimes a few hours later ;-)) I see that this was just wishful thinking. Therefore perhaps unpleasant situations can be very helpful to learn acceptance and allowing (even if it is not easy)...

    Gassho
    Bianca
    Gassho,
    Bianca

  6. #6
    Mp
    Guest
    "Just be" ... thank you for this Jundo. Funny how sometimes when studying for so long that coming back to the basics is the best teaching. Just like Shunryu Suzuki Roshi said, "Zen Mind, Beginners Mind".

    Gassho
    Michael

  7. #7
    Jundo,

    Thank you for this beautiful teaching.

  8. #8
    ..always the cause vs the effect...never the right effect lasts, and the wrong result is memorable....we wish this but get that..like a broken record, on and on....even, then, getting what we want turns to smoke, vanishes like the new smell of an expensive car interior...soon it's an old car...

    ...the other side is awakening to this drama seeing the emptyness of it, the unsubstantiality that causes regrets, feel the evanescence...what joy, only don't hang on to joy....what releif, only don't see it as releif....like a kid wiht his hand in the cookie jar, close the lid. taste the cookie.get ready for the next act....reset..!

    Thank you Jundo.

    Gassho, Ed B
    "Know that the practice of zazen is the complete path of buddha-dharma and nothing can be compared to it....it is not the practice of one or two buddhas but all the buddha ancestors practice this way."
    Dogen zenji in Bendowa






  9. #9
    Thank you Jundo for this teaching.

    Gassho,
    Björn


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  10. #10
    Kaishin,

    Since the posts are numbered, any reason you needed to have them in order?

    Took me awhile to get them all marked as read. Problem? Not really. Annoying enough for me to ask why it was necessary? Yes.

    Gassho,
    Dosho

  11. #11
    .......simple and beautiful explanation.

  12. #12
    beautiful explanation Jundo, thanks.
    Dancing between stillness and motion I find peace.

  13. #13
    Treeleaf Unsui Shugen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Redding California USA
    Gassho,

    Shugen

    #sattoday
    Meido Shugen
    明道 修眼

  14. #14



    Gassho
    Lisa
    sat today

  15. #15
    Joyo
    Guest
    Thank you very much, Jundo. This is just what I needed today. I am so grateful for Treeleaf.

    Gassho,
    Joyo
    sat today

  16. #16
    Thanks jundo

    Gassho
    Dave sat today

  17. #17
    Thanks Jundo. Gave me a very meaningful interpretation of the Dharma.

    Gassho
    Cathy
    Sat today.
    Gassho,

    Cathy

    Sat today

  18. #18
    Gassho


    ..sat2day•

  19. #19
    Jundo,
    Thank you for the wonderful teaching.
    Gassho
    Theophan
    Sat Today

  20. #20
    Ansan
    Guest
    Thank you, Jundo. I needed that.
    Gassho,
    Ansan
    SatToday

  21. #21

  22. #22
    Cyd
    Guest
    Thank You Jundo
    for giving more insight into this in my opinion Important Teaching.
    i have a better understanding


    Gossho
    Cyd

  23. #23
    Yes as I can read some and this is very important to me keep me informed Tai Shi std Gassho and deep bows
    Peaceful Poet, Tai Shi. Ubasoku; calm, supportive, limited to positive 優婆塞 台 婆

  24. #24
    Love Jundo's take on this basic teaching that it is not the suffering so much as our resistance to it that compounds it. Nonetheless, just letting it "be" takes lots of practice! We as human beings love to analyze our situation to death & compare lour situation to everyone else's.

  25. #25
    Thank you, Jundo.

    Such a beautiful reminder that the release of struggle brings peace.
    Gassho,
    M.C.

    #sattoday

  26. #26
    Thanks Jundo. The lesson was a great refresher since I haven't read the four noble truths in a long while. I look forward to sitting with the rest.
    Gassho
    Chelsea
    Sat2day


    Sent from my LGLS675 using Tapatalk

  27. #27
    Wonderful introduction. Thank you for the lesson.

    John
    Sat Today

  28. #28
    Thank you, Jundo.

    Gassho,
    Onkai
    SatToday

  29. #29
    Thank you Jundo! I feel like someone just lifted a huge weight off my chest! I sat today!!! 😊

  30. #30
    I have been studying and living Zen Buddhism for thirty years. Today I finished the Zen for Beginner's thread and started this thread. I am learning a lot from Treeleaf. Thank you.

    Gassho,
    Wuyi
    SatLah
    無依 Mui
    "Relies on Nothing"

  31. #31
    Thank you for the teaching, Jundo.

    No clinging, no grasping- be like water. Accept.

    Gassho
    Teiro

  32. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by Teiro View Post
    Thank you for the teaching, Jundo.

    No clinging, no grasping- be like water. Accept.

    Gassho
    Teiro
    H Teiro,

    Don't forget to sit before posting, please, and to add "SatToday" to your posts. It encourages others to sit. Thank you.

    Sorry to cause you "SatToday" Dukkha!

    Gassho, Jundo

    SatTodayLAH
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  33. #33
    Thank you for the reminder, Jundo! I’m sorry and I (hopefully ) won’t forget it next time.

    Gassho
    Teiro

    Sat this morning
    Teiro

  34. #34
    I just loved watching Jundo explanation. It gave some peace to hear his words. But maybe I am the bad horse here, I still have that idea of Buddhism as a pessimistic religion, because it seems like I must accept things that I shouldn´t. If the world is X and I want it to be Y, where/when/how should I act to improve it? I still resist as a bad wheel dukkha... I sincerely look for more understanding about my life and the world. Thank you very much for the teaching Mr. Jundo.

  35. #35
    I would say that the reason Buddhism isn't pessimistic is because it doesn't say, everything is bad and there is nothing you can do about it. It is perfectly fine to try and change a bad situation, we just have to learn to let go of the outcomes. We work to not get so attached to things so when they change we don't suffer. If you see a bad situation then work to change it. If you get too caught up in your own emotions about it then you won't suffer while trying to change these things. I probably don't make much sense, but it all basically boils down to don't get attached to things. I would also say that on one level that letting go is a version of making change.

    So, an example of this from my own life is the breaking of my hot water heater. The hot water heater in my house has been dying on and off for a couple months now and we already had someone come look at it and repair it a couple months ago when it first started. So naturally when I didn't get any hot water a few days ago I was very disappointed. I could have let my anger overwhelm me and then influence my actions but instead I let it go and told my partner about it and now someone is coming to look at it. The problem can still get resolved without my needing to react to my anger and to cause suffering for myself and others.

    One last example: A few years ago I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Instead of becoming pessimistic and deciding that there was nothing that could be done I went on medication to help it get better. The disorder will likely never go away, instead I can learn to live in a way that is harmonious with it and continue on with my life instead of letting it bog me down and completely throwing in the towel and just giving up on life. I can continue to try and make it better while simultaneously accepting that it is there and may never change.
    Anyway, I hope this helps.

    Gassho
    John
    Sat Today
    Last edited by jgotthart; 04-10-2019 at 09:42 PM.

  36. #36
    Mr. John, I appreciate your kind words. Please consider what I am about to say just a thought from a distance friend lost in the woods. Let go of the outcome seems like something I´ve heard before, not in Buddhism but at the investing arena. I guess that if we do our best the outcome become somehow irrelevant, because we did the right thing and have a clean conscious. Perhaps to live with no regrets is the trick to accept bad outcomes. Like a warrior who wins or die in a battle, it doesnt matter if there is victory or defeat, a smile should be always there. Maybe I am very wrong because I am a newbie here and have infinite room to improve. I didn´t go all-out when I should and now I live nightmares of regrets. Gladly I am still here and there is time to reboot everything. I am ready for a new vision. My monkey mind definitely sucks! Thank you very much Mr. John for the conversation.

  37. #37
    Hi Yuridayananda,

    This really helped me understand the point you mentioned. https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/show...inners-%286%29


    Gassho
    Sattoday/lah
    Jack

  38. #38
    Quote Originally Posted by Kakedashi View Post
    Hi Yuridayananda,

    This really helped me understand the point you mentioned. https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/show...inners-%286%29


    Gassho
    Sattoday/lah
    Jack
    Hello Kakedashi! Man, I think this teaching was the greatest buddhist teaching I ever received. For years I have been struggling with the idea of acceptance as resignation and passivity. But now I am beyond that, one step higher. I have not enough words to thank you for showing me that. And Mr. Jundo, he is really the man. I sincerely appreciate what you have done to me. Now I am ready more than ever to go ahead.

  39. #39
    Member Yokai's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Location
    Havelock North, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
    Sitting shikantaza the other day, I got grumpy when the doorbell rang: "Don't you know this is important...I'm trying to drop self here!"
    Seems even my "zazen" can slip into grasping, not letting go.

    Thank you Jundo for the clarity you bring to this teaching on dukkha.

    Gassho, Chris sat/lah
    Last edited by Yokai; 02-28-2020 at 04:38 AM.

  40. #40
    Quote Originally Posted by ChrisKiwi View Post
    Sitting shikantaza the other day, I got grumpy when the doorbell rang: "Don't you know this is important...I'm trying to drop self here!"
    Seems even my "zazen" can slip into grasping, not letting go.

    Thank you Jundo for the clarity you bring to this teaching on dukkha.

    Gassho, Chris sat/lah
    I can relate to that completely, with a cat, a dog, and a toddler, it's such a great way to learn to sit with it!

    I'm glad to start all of these Buddha basics, I've studied Buddhism for quite some time, but as we're all always beginners I'm excited for Jundo's take on it!

    Gassho,

    Joshua
    SatToday/LaH

    Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

  41. #41
    Jundo,
    Thanks for your teachings. It is refreshing to go through the basics again.

    Not long ago I was caught in a rainstorm. While some waited out the storm under shelter and others ran for cover, I resolved to "just be wet". I have to tell you I felt a huge amount of joy in that moment. I tried to explain that to my wife and she thought I was just playing in the rain. Maybe I was?

    Gassho,
    steve
    st/lah

  42. #42
    Do we have another round off chemotherapy, spend twenty hours of our week on dialysis, have an organ transplant, a heart bypass or, do we die?

    In my experience I was not offered the choice and I just accepted what my doctors said I needed to do to live. If I was offered the choice I would still choose to live and my practice has given me the space from where in the middle of it all, it is all okay.

    Gassho,
    Mark.

    Sat today, LAH.

  43. #43
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  44. #44
    Thank you Jundo,

    I feel that living in a world where media is constantly pressuring you to consume and telling us that "we" want ourselves to be like X, yet we are not X. However, if we buy this product then we will be X. I think this adds to the wheel not turning softly. We need to accept how we are, how the world is, and float along on the river.

    Thank you for this teaching.

    Gassho
    Brianna

  45. #45

    Exclamation

    Thank you Jundo:

    It’ s a heady concept to work through, if indeed it needs to be worked through at all. We all suffer, have disappointments & frustrations. It’s when we try to fight them that the problem begins. Does that mean though, that if we CAN fix a problem, we SHOULDN’T? If it’s raining & you have no umbrella, but there is a shelter close by, do you accept the rain & not move, or do you go to the shelter? Does accepting mean that we can’t fix it it if there’s a way within our reach?

    Gassho
    Jennifer
    Sat Today
    Gassho
    Jen [tranquility]

  46. #46
    Quote Originally Posted by Aucoinj View Post
    Does that mean though, that if we CAN fix a problem, we SHOULDN’T? If it’s raining & you have no umbrella, but there is a shelter close by, do you accept the rain & not move, or do you go to the shelter? Does accepting mean that we can’t fix it it if there’s a way within our reach?
    No, no. Of course, we try to fix what we can, do our best to stay dry and healthy.

    As well, part of us will always detest getting caught in the freezing rain, sick with pneumonia as a result!

    But there is also a part of us who can accept what is, fixed or not, and can leap right past "rain or sun" "healthy and sick."

    So, leap past all ideas of what should be, even as you try to make better what you can. All at once.

    Gassho, J

    STLah
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  47. #47
    I loved the message of this video! What a great message regarding suffering. I like this idea of “…..yield to it…be free with it…come to terms with it..”! It’s our attachment to things that cause all the problems

    Thank you Jundo

    Gassho
    Jeff
    Sat today

  48. #48
    alan watts says in one of his books that his ex-nazi monk friend told him about somepeople who contemplated bombs dropping over them during the war experienced an enlightenment-like mind states because they accepted that bombs should have dropped as they are..

    thank you Jundo

    gassho
    fâtih
    sati

  49. #49
    Suffering seems to be so integral to life as to be inseparable. Only this morning, my 7 year old Granddaughter cried because she bumped her head.

    Those who to live, die.
    Those who love, grieve.

    Accepting the suffering is sometimes easier than other times.

    To remain calm and make the right decisions, to always help others and never cause harm, to alleviate the suffering of others - if I could always do this I would be a saint (my wife can tell you that I am not a saint).
    We do what we can.

    Gasshō
    Seiko
    stlah
    Gandō Seiko
    頑道清光
    (Stubborn Way of Pure Light)

    My street name is 'Al'.

    Any words I write here are merely the thoughts of an apprentice priest, just my opinions, that's all.

  50. #50

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