Breaking the Cycle of Dissatisfaction: A Buddhist View on Suffering
It’s Easter, a holy day for Christians and a holiday for others in nations like Australia. Regardless of one’s religion, spiritual inclination or world view, such holidays give us a break from the normal rhythm of our lives and as such are a good time for reflection. This reflection reveals my Buddhist background and the Buddhist world view I retain to this day. It’s essentially a reflection on aspects of the core Buddhist teaching known as the Four Noble Truths, a statement on the causes of and way out of human suffering. A Comfortable Beginning When I first encountered the Buddhist view on suffering, essentially saying that suffering is the state of our human existence, I couldn’t help but think it was a bit of an overstatement. At that time, I was living a very comfortable life. The world situation seemed stable, and my generation was enjoying the fruits of…