SpiritSite.com John Powers Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism

"In order to break this pattern, we must reorient our thinking to accord with reality."

John Powers,
Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism,
Part 1

Buddhism holds that the problem is a cognitive one, and the solution lies in cognitive restructuring. Buddhism teaches that every creature has transmigrated helplessly since beginningless time under the influence of ignorance and that their lack of understanding has led to performance of actions that have created connections with cyclic existence. In order to break this pattern, we must reorient our thinking to accord with reality.

One of the greatest obstacles to this goal lies in the fact that worldly existence is full of traps that beguile the unwary and blind them to the harsh realities of cyclic existence. Life is full of suffering, aging, and death, but most of us overlook these and focus on momentary pleasures. Those who view the world in accordance with reality, however, understand that all who are born in it must inevitably suffer over and die. This fact was recognized with full existential clarity by the Buddha on the night of his awakening, and he expressed it in a set of propositions that are referred to by Buddhists as the "four noble truths." These are: (1) the truth of suffering; (2) the truth of the origin of suffering; (3) the truth of the cessation of suffering; and (4) the truth of the eightfold path which overcomes suffering.

The truth of suffering holds that all of cyclic existence is inevitably connected with unpleasantness. It is important to note that the term translated here as "suffering" has a wide range of connotations. Duhkha, or suffering, refers not only to physical pain, but also to emotional turmoil, discomfort, dissatisfaction, and sorrow. The truth of suffering is a recognition that these things are found in the lives of ordinary beings and that those who experience them consider them unpleasant.

It should be noted that Buddhism does not deny the presence of happiness in human life. What it does deny is that satisfaction can be permanent for those enmeshed in cyclic existence, which is characterized by constant change. Even when one finds happiness, it must inevitably end, only to be replaced by loss, longing, and sorrow. This state of affairs is considered to be unacceptable, and Buddhism teaches a path by which this unsatisfactory situation may be transcended.

next ->

Home \| Writings \| World \| John Powers \| Tibetan Buddhism part 1 \| next
Excerpted from Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism by John Powers. Copyright © 2007 by John Powers. Excerpted by permission of Snow Lion Publications. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. HTML and web pages copyright © by SpiritSite.com.