Transcending the Sufferings of Samsara

The foremost purpose of practicing the Buddhadharma is to free ourselves from the suffering of samsara. All beings within the six realms undergo suffering: physical illness is suffering; heat, and cold are suffering; headaches, toothaches, and sores are suffering; wrong views and the afflictions they generate are likewise suffering. There is no place in which suffering is absent. Why do we suffer? It is because our primordial awareness is obscured and unclear. How, then, can such awareness become clear? We must learn the Buddha’s mindful discernment and contemplation, so that we may understand the truth of the universe and, by relying upon the Buddha’s teachings on the karmic law of cause-and-effect and emptiness, free ourselves from the suffering of cyclic existence.

Waves may rise and fall and take on countless forms, yet their nature is nothing other than seawater. In the same way, although innumerable phenomena arise in life—diverse beings and varied forms of existence—“All conditioned dharmas are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow. Like dew and lightning.” This is what is meant by “impermanence.” Therefore, we must regard the pleasure and pain we now experience as impermanent and avoid clinging to them. In this way the mind remains unhindered, and through cultivating meditative stability we can steady and recollect the mind, gathering it inward.

The path of Dharma practice consists of two aspects: shamatha (calm abiding) and vipashyana (insight). Shamatha is the gathering of the mind; vipashyana is the careful analysis of phenomena—reflecting thoroughly until one sees that all transient changes are ultimately of emptiness, where an inherent existence is absent. Practicing the Dharma requires contemplative cultivation, specifically reflecting on the four noble truths of suffering, its origin, cessation, and the path. Through the four noble truths we come to understand that all conditioned existence is suffering; that suffering arises through the accumulation of negative acts; and that to bring suffering to an end, methods must be employed. First and foremost, in daily life we must hold right views, rely upon the Three Jewels, and follow the teaching to “refrain from non-virtues, engage in virtues, and purify our intents.” This constitutes right view. We must then uphold right mindfulness—continually observing and recognizing our innate awareness—learning to emulate the Buddha as an awakened one who clearly discerns reality and does not become deluded by phenomena.

Every one of us possesses the capacity for contemplative awareness, yet we remain deluded within samsara, deluded by greed, aversion, and ignorance, and captivated by our immediate circumstances. Busy with the demands of survival, we lack the leisure for contemplation and fill our days with concerns for livelihood and desire. Thus we remain ordinary beings. To transform ourselves from ordinary beings into awakened ones like the Buddha, we must maintain constant contemplative awareness, recognizing that all worldly phenomena are suffering, empty, unreal, and transient. We must understand that birth-and-death within samsara is like changing garments: we take the forms of a pig, a dog, a human, changing again and again—yet which among these is truly the self? None.

Therefore, we must continually contemplate these truths. Through the study of the Dharma, we are guided toward awakening; we learn to address our afflictions of greed, aversion, and ignorance, remove inner obstacles, and relinquish attachment. Only then can we liberate ourselves from the cycle of rebirth.