Desire, Suffering and Paths to Nowhere

 Someone, somewhere spoke of "desire" as the cause of suffering. Not sure how the conversation went, but desire remained - in various ways. Many Dharma books - or books on Buddhism - more often than not translate key words from the Pali into English (Theravada) or from Sanskrit into English (Mahayana). Particularly Introductory books, seeking to make them more comprehensible. But this is not always the best option.

There are many subsequent books and arguments that throw the word "suffering" back and forth. "All is suffering" said the Buddha! What a pessimist! Obviously wrong, so much joy in the world!

But "all is dukkha"? To grasp dukkha, to understand , is far from chewing the cud over the prevalence of "suffering".

To do so we have to enter another world of thought.

As with "desire". Or as in the Pali, tanha which can also be translated as "thirst". But recently, in one Dharma book, an astonishing fact, that in the Theravada texts there can be found seventeen different words which have all been translated as "desire" in various books dedicated to understanding Buddhism. So there is the problem.

Whatever, the common interpretation is that suffering (dukkha) is caused by craving (samudaya) and can be eliminated (nirodha) by following the eightfold path (mārga).

Yet some "revisionists" are known to asserts that "marga" - the path - is not the path to the end of suffering, more THE path, which is endless. This, firstly, because it is evident that Buddha did not become enlightened by following the eightfold path: he found the path by becoming enlightened.

Further, some now say that after deep study of the original texts in the original Pali, with all its nuances, that the ‘four noble truths’ is not a very good rendering of the name for the basics. That in fact a better rendition would be ‘four truths for noble ones’. (Which tends to elimate myself from the equation, but I'll leave that aside)

One such teacher of the Dharma says that Dukkha is not something that is ever eliminated as such. Handing over to this teacher, his words:-

Birth, disease, old age and death, separation from what is loved, confinement with what it unlovely, failure and loss are all inevitable whether one is enlightened or not. The first truth, therefore, is a truth for everybody. The second truth is not just the cause of suffering, but also the result of affliction. It literally means ‘what comes up with dukkha’. What comes up is a bittersweet mixture of emotions, and sometimes even woeful resignation. The way in which an ordinary person handles this eventuality does commonly lead to more dukkha, as when one drowns one’s sorrow in alcohol, for example. The enlightened person, however, has a broader perspective within which to contain (nirodha) the arising energy. This is based on faith, vision and practice. When the arising energies are sublimated in this way, the person may well be found to be on the eightfold path. The path, therefore, is not a way to but a way from enlightenment, as it certainly was for the Buddha. This interpretation has stood the test of time and many people have found it valuable.


Well, anyway, whatever, not many interested. Myself, I find it more interesting than speculating upon the consequences of Donald Trump's arrest, or how the UK's very own Donald Trump Lite, Boris Johnson, will get on when grilled today about his alleged lying to Parliament.