Buddhism
Buddhism is a philosophy, a religion, and a spiritual tradition. It has evolved into various forms to meet the diverse needs of the people seeking the wisdom in its teachings. I found Buddhism when the physical and emotional pain and suffering I was experiencing felt insurmountable. The Buddhist teachings on pain, suffering, and liberation provided me with a philosophy for understanding myself, my pain, and the nature of reality. The truth is that pain is an inevitable and natural part of the human experience. We live in imperfect bodies in an imperfect world. Where we are subject to the impermanent, or ever-changing nature, of our bodies and the world around us. The reality of pain is only part of the truth. Buddhism teaches that there is a difference between pain and suffering. While pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. One of my favorite teachings that illustrates the relationship between pain and suffering comes from the Buddhist story of "The Arrow." These excerpts are taken from the Sallatha Sutta, one of many suttas which are Buddhist texts. This one is a conversation between the Buddha and his monks:
"Monks, an uninstructed run-of-the-mill person feels feelings of pleasure, feelings of pain, feelings of neither-pleasure-nor-pain. A well-instructed disciple of the noble ones also feels feelings of pleasure, feelings of pain, feelings of neither-pleasure-nor-pain. So what difference, what distinction, what distinguishing factor is there between the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones and the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person?[...]
When touched with a feeling of pain, the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person sorrows, grieves, & laments, beats his breast, becomes distraught. So he feels two pains, physical & mental. Just as if they were to shoot a man with an arrow and, right afterward, were to shoot him with another one, so that he would feel the pains of two arrows; in the same way, when touched with a feeling of pain, the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person sorrows, grieves, & laments, beats his breast, becomes distraught. So he feels two pains, physical & mental. [...]
Now, the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones, when touched with a feeling of pain, does not sorrow, grieve, or lament, does not beat his breast or become distraught. So he feels one pain: physical, but not mental. Just as if they were to shoot a man with an arrow and, right afterward, did not shoot him with another one, so that he would feel the pain of only one arrow. In the same way, when touched with a feeling of pain, the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones does not sorrow, grieve, or lament, does not beat his breast or become distraught. He feels one pain: physical, but not mental.
As he is touched by that painful feeling, he is not resistant. No resistance-obsession with regard to that painful feeling obsesses him. Touched by that painful feeling, he does not delight in sensual pleasure. Why is that? Because the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones discerns an escape from painful feeling aside from sensual pleasure. As he is not delighting in sensual pleasure, no passion-obsession with regard to that feeling of pleasure obsesses him. He discerns, as it actually is present, the origination, passing away, allure, drawback, and escape from that feeling. As he discerns the origination, passing away, allure, drawback, and escape from that feeling, no ignorance-obsession with regard to that feeling of neither-pleasure-nor-pain obsesses him."
The purpose of the story and the point the Buddha is making is that we can change how we relate to pain through instruction and practice. When we experience pain, we have a choice; we can add to the discomfort with resistance, thereby creating suffering. On the other hand, we can choose a different path, one of awareness, insight, acceptance, and kindness; this is the Buddhist path. It is a path that teaches skillful means for living a life of joy and freedom from suffering even amid pain.
As a philosophy, Buddhism helps me cultivate the wisdom necessary to bring awareness, clear understanding, and loving-kindness to my relationship with pain, myself, and others. The Buddhist practices help me turn insight into a way of being, also known as embodied living. Through daily practice, cognitive wisdom becomes incorporated on a cellular level; it is the difference between knowing or understanding and doing or being. While I naturally gravitated toward Buddhist philosophy, the spiritual traditions were difficult for me to accept. As a spiritual skeptic, anything that required faith or trust in the unseen, unknown, or unprovable was not a credible source of wisdom. However, through learning to trust myself and experiencing firsthand the benefits of Buddhist practices, I have embraced my spirituality.
Buddhism and its teachings have grown increasingly in popularity in the West over the last few decades. Its broad appeal can be attributed to its sensible approach to many of life's difficulties while providing practical tools for working with them. Buddhism does not require nor ask for "blind faith"; instead, it invites the individual to cultivate specific skills, also known as the eightfold path. These skills can provide the path to liberation from suffering. The invitation is in learning and cultivating them in a way that honors our unique purpose, values, and intentions.
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