Buddhist Belief – What Do You Know?

One of the inevitabilities of life and among the aspects of Buddhist Belief we can’t avoid, is the inevitability that we will all reach a moment in our lives when we will die. As much as we all go to great effort to avoid this truth, it is the truth. Nothing is permanent, not even us. We know this but we don’t like to know we know it.
Now on that uplifting note …

One of the things I’ve learned in my Buddhist studies, and one of the results of folks knowing I’m trying to live a Buddhist lifestyle, is how many people I come across who lose interest in the study of the dharma because it seems to be “sort of negative” – and even harsh at times. I know one of the aspects I’ve written about here is the idea of “not knowing”. My own interpretation of “not knowing” is not about being a dummy or being ignorant – it is about not clearly understanding – you don’t understand, you don’t know, … yet! For me, “not knowing” as it relates to the teachings of Buddhist Belief, is sort of like “not knowing” a certain traffic law could end up getting you a ticket. Your “not knowing” about the law isn’t a problem to you until you get stopped and handed a ticket. Then the suffering sets in, doesn’t it?
But, (I hear you thinking), I’m pretty happy. I don’t feel like I’m suffering so much. Why should I worry about “not knowing” about something I may never truly understand anyway?
The answer is this — and I am speaking from experience – every minute of life is absolutely precious and those minutes will slip away from us faster than you would ever imagine. We’re just cruising along living our lives and seeking as much satisfaction as possible – cars, TVs, friends, lovers, movies, and other things we desire to make us feel happier. We all do this – it’s seems to be human nature. As long as we’re having fun, why worry about anything negative. But, those fun things will also pass – they aren’t permanent either. They will eventually end.
Now, I may be wrong about this, but I feel strongly about it so I’m going to write about it here. Feel free to disagree. I believe one of the reasons why we’re so focused on the accumulation of satisfaction is because it’s easier than allowing our minds to distract us from the fear of death, disease, war, poverty, and pain of all kinds. I guess it’s another human trait – if we avoid it – maybe it will go away. Keep the mind happy and everything will be fine.
Why do we do this? Because it’s what we’ve been taught to do from the very early days of our lives. We are generally focused on trying to keep one jump ahead of whatever might be right around the corner. We tend to cling to what we know because we’ve been taught it’s something that can’t be taken away from us. We add more and more labels to our experiences because we feel it adds predictability and stability to our lives. We label ourselves as athletes, or professionals, or wealthy, or beautiful, etc. We even label ourselves with negative labels like loser, poor, fat, ugly, etc. When we use the negative labels we then “know” we will fail or be disliked. With the positive labels we “know” we will succeed and be liked. This is where our lack of true wisdom becomes a real problem.
Why?
Because we all have the same chance of getting sick and dying. This is a 100% true fact. We are all in the same boat. All the rest of the stuff we rely on so heavily is in the eye of the beholder and we have no control over it. Our constant striving for all the “things and stuff” as a means of making us think we’ll be happy is a monumental waste of time – and it’s downright addictive. This may sound pessimistic, but when we work so hard at denying the truth of suffering it doesn’t decrease our chances of experiencing it – in fact – it could increase the potential circumstances that bring it about. When we begin to accept the fact that accumulating more and more will lead to less happiness, the more we will do the work necessary to understand the undeniable truth of suffering and the less it will be frightening to you. It also has the hidden benefit of teaching us about being humble and becoming more compassionate to those who don’t “get it” yet.
People who are selfless and humble tend to live longer and be healthier, making their lives more enjoyable even in trying situations. It also sets the stage for more positive events to occur in their lives without any discernible effort on their part, like a person who never smiles has a smaller chance of being approached by potential friends than someone who smiles at everyone.
The benefits are endless. Learning this lesson can be the most worthwhile pursuit in our lifetime.
Metta ….May I be well and happy. My I live in safety. May I be healthy and strong. May I live with ease. May all beings be well and happy. May all beings live in safety. May all beings be healthy and strong. May all beings live with ease