Understanding Suffering | 11 Oct 2023
by Ajahn Anan
Suffering, according to the Four Noble Truths—having to part with what we love, having to meet with people or things we dislike, or this body which deteriorates, changes, and experiences suffering right in front of us—is for knowing suffering and letting go of the causes of suffering. Thus Lord Buddha taught us to walk the path of generosity, morality, and mental cultivation, or morality, meditation, and wisdom. It is difficult for people’s minds to become concentrated in samadhi because they are drenched in sensations of pleasure and displeasure, and continually grasping things as ‘me and mine’. So we must train with the body first: see that this mass of flesh is painful, subject to change, not beautiful nor attractive, not me nor mine. When the mind becomes still to the point where wisdom arises, we will see the truth in a wondrous way, this is called, “seeing the Dhamma”.
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