How does human suffering arise?

Without thorough investigation, many people instinctively think suffering arises from not having money, not having enough to eat, not having warm clothing, etc. Actually, these are only some of the reasons why we suffer; they are not the main reason.

[Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series "Do not be frightened off by the Paper Tiger" ~ Suffering is just a Paper Tiger]

Since ancient times, the one thing human beings have always longed for is happiness. Yet, with all the progress in society, what we believe to be happiness has eluded us. The rapid decline in the index on global well-being has compelled all of us to rethink: What is happiness? How do we find it? In recent years, this topic has generated even greater interest.

Perhaps there are some methods in Buddhism. These methods might not work for everyone since we each have individual needs — in Buddhist terms, this is to say no one method can suit everyone since we each have karmic dispositions that are vastly different. However, for those who have the inclination, the methods can guide us in finding happiness in everyday life and at work, and in leading a fuller and more meaningful life.

[Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series "Do not be frightened off by the Paper Tiger" : The Tibetan Buddhist View on Happiness]

We need to be really careful with the words we use here. The words Buddhists use to describe the world are very accurate. In the micro-world, nothing is really moving, moving is only illusion of our senses.

An example is when an electron moves around the nucleus from one location to another. On the conceptual level, there is movement. However, there is not a single electron that is moving because when the electron shifts to a different location, at the same time this particular electron diminishes from its original location. This also means that the previous electron vanishes once the present one is generated. After the electron moves to another location, at that spot another new electron appears, then disappears. If we look with our naked eyes, what we see is one electron moving from one location to a second, then to a third and fourth location, and so on. The first electron actually has no correlation to the second or the third one, but is separate from them. On the micro level, we see the illusion of a moving electron, but nothing is truly moving. Although the individual electrons have some certain similarities, they are not the same. Buddhism calls this “arising and ceasing”.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Illusory World]

In our innumerable past lives, had we ever committed this type of immutable karma? The answer is yes. Therefore, we can be as virtuous as we like in this life, but retribution may still await us if we cannot purify all our negative karma from the past. Once this type of karma matures, there is no escape from bearing its effect, albeit temporarily. Does this mean that virtuous karma we have accumulated in this lifetime will go to waste? Certainly not. It will also bear its own fruit. However, if virtuous karma is not powerful enough and ripens slowly, it is possible that we may have to suffer first before enjoying any reward.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Right View : On Cause and Effect]

How can a person who has practiced virtue his entire life be reborn in the lower realms? Well, although the person may have been virtuous throughout this life, we do not know anything about this person’s previous lives. Maybe the person had been virtuous in this as well as the last two lifetimes, but this might not still be the case if we could go back even further. Some negative karma might have been committed many lifetimes ago. From the perspective of the three types of immutable karma, virtuous karma that the person had committed in this life happens to ripen not in the current or the next life, but in yet unknown future lives. That is, it may not come to fruition until perhaps hundreds or even thousands of years later.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Right View : On Cause and Effect]

The doctrine of the Twelve Nidanas is a key Buddhist thought. It mainly delineates how the past, present and future lives of human beings or other viviparous animals of the desire realm2 come about. In other words, it explains how we enter and leave this world.

Why do we need to understand our coming and going? The Twelve Nidanas, like the constantly moving wheel, take us into, out of and back into this world over and over again. We need to be prepared when this process restarts. What the Twelve Nidanas deal with are something that everyone has to face, and how to face them is a very important lesson for us all.

The Twelve Nidanas as presented in “Ornament of Clear Realization” are quite complicated. The intent of this discussion is, however, to focus only on the parts that are important for us to know.

[Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1 : The Right View ~ The Twelve Nidhanas]

We never believe, however, that this world is arising and ceasing momentarily but assume time runs through the past and future. We consider that getting off work and going home are two different things. We never think that the only time we have is one ten thousandth of a second, and neither do we believe that this world is only one ten thousandth of a second. The reason we are not able to observe this with our naked eyes is because the arising and ceasing of objects is extremely fast.

We also cannot gather the past, present and future into the same time and the same place. If that happened, our concept of time would be mistaken. So we live in a dream-like world.

And so, Buddhism believes the whole world is a dream-like bubble. This is a very sound, reasonable, and scientific view toward the world and really has nothing to do with religion or faith.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Illusory World]

Padmasambhava is regarded as the guru in all the Nyingma's terma (hidden treasure) teaching cycles. For example, when we practice guru yoga, the guru that we visualize is Padmasambhava. Even if we have many root gurus, Padmasambhava can represent all of them. In other words, the nature of Padmasambhava is all of those root gurus. The practice of Padmasambhava contains all the guru yogas.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Guru Yoga Practice of the Seven-Line Prayer to Padmasambhava]

Years ago, I wrote a book about the merit of being vegetarian and the faults of eating meat or being non-vegetarian. Our talk today is based on part of that book.

With regard to the Buddhist views on being vegetarian and non-vegetarian, here is what the book said:" According to the Hinayana tradition, one is allowed to eat only the ‘three kinds of clean flesh.’ Other kinds of meat are strictly forbidden. Now in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, the Sangha still upholds this practice. They think that not eating meat at all is to follow the decree of Devadatta1. And the practice of eating the three kinds of clean flesh is rather in keeping with the precepts taught by the Buddha in the Theravadin Vinaya."

[Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1 : The Right View ~ Why Vegetarian?]