SpiritSite.com John Powers Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism

"The third noble truth indicates that it is possible to bring suffering to an end through overcoming afflicted desire."

John Powers,
Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism,
Part 4

Beings suffer due to their afflicted desires, and the way to overcome suffering lies in eliminating them. In a discussion of the first two noble truths, Kalu Rinpoche indicates that Buddha

taught these subjects extensively and in great detail, and it is important for us to understand them in order to recognize the limitations of our present situation. We have to understand our circumstances and know that, given the nature of cause and effect . . . we can look forward to nothing but suffering. We have to realize that we are enmeshed in the various factors of cause and effect, which lead first to one state of suffering and on that basis to another, and so on. When we have seen the inherent limitations of this situation, we can begin to consider getting out of it. We can begin to look for the possibility of transcending samsaric existence and all its attendant sufferings, limitations, and frustrations.

Desire is divided into three types: (1) desire for pleasure, (2) desire for continued existence, and (3) desire for nonexistence. The first type is the result of contact with sense objects that one finds attractive, and it creates the seeds of future attachments. The second type is the common wish that one's existence will continue forever and the tendency to live as if this were the case, despite the overwhelming evidence that one will inevitably die. The third craving arises from the belief that everything comes to an end in death, and so it is wrong to find happiness in material things, or in the present life, since death is inevitable. Buddhist philosophy holds that all three kinds of desire are mistaken and that all must be overcome in order to find lasting happiness.

The third noble truth indicates that it is possible to bring suffering to an end through overcoming afflicted desire. Suffering depends on causes, and if one removes the causes, suffering will disappear. The problem is cognitive, and so the solution is also cognitive: we suffer due to false ideas about what is pleasurable, worthwhile, or desirable, and the truth of the path indicates a way to restructure one's cognitions in accordance with reality in order to bring suffering to an end.

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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.