The reason why people suffer... it is not desire... it is...

The Buddha said that the reason why people suffer is because they have desire and this leads to longing and then they keep going through life suffering.

I say, the REAL reason people suffer is because they believe in LACK.

Lack leads to longing.
It makes people greedy - causing them to want more and more and never feel satisfied
It makes people feel like there is a "gap" between others.
It makes people "cry" at funerals and after a break up because they believe in "(eternal) separation".
It makes them feel like something is "missing" in their life (boredom, loneliness, etc.)
It makes people believe that there is a "separation" between them or anyone else.


Nothing is "missing" everything is happening now. Lack is an idea - HAPPENING is reality.

We can take action which stems from The Inner Silence by not taking action from the Lack-Thoughts.

We can understand that nothing is missing and find the stillness/peace inside and let the action arise naturally from our nature.


Understand that the Satisfaction / Contentment is ALWAYS there and ANY feeling of lack is a thought in mind saying that reality should be "different" than it is.

Now the action will just flow and even if the action does not make a goal which benefits you, you'll still be happy whether "success" or "failure".

All (Existence) in One (being), One (being) in All (Existence)

I believe with the Buddha and you that the cause of all suffering is striving. You can look at it negatively and say 'lack' or positively and say 'desire,' either way it is the same thing. The cause of suffering is existence. As soon as we exist we strive to prolong our existence and avoid death. That causes suffering. Very simple.

reply to post by Socrato


I agree. Desire or lack, it's the same coin. Heads or tails?

Is the glass half empty or half full?

We suffer because we don't know who we are. If one doesn't know who they are, it's impossible to be true to oneself.

The happiness trap.

you think you need to be happy, and you are not. Then you think you must be at fault because you are not happy. Leading you back to just wanting to be happy. So you think you need to be happy...

Problem is, you don't need to be happy. You need to be aware of how you feel, first. You need to be aware of where you are, how you feel.. and it's by being mindful of your set and setting that you can get this.. at least ONE way.

Mindfulness is sitting still in the moment. What is it that you ignore every single moment in order to function... Stop, and look at it all.. the feeling of the chair under you.. the socks on your feet.. How the tension in your jaw feels. Relax... how your toes fit - wiggling them.. You would be amazed how much we ignore just sitting still.

Now think of a savant. They have all of that and a score times infinity more thrust at them. They can recreate the most intricte images.. We lost so much information because we cannot focus on that much information. Imagine if we could? Imagine however, if you could focus it all on one thing..



There are many resources for mindfulness out there. I don't think I can link to any from here. But mindfulness is an observation of the self. It allows negative thoughts to become nothing more than stories our bodies react to, and if we understand that even reading this, is nothing more than stimulating chemical reactions in your brain right now, how can we not accept that this is also true?!

Many things can be gained thru suffering.
It is a learning process if viewed from a certain angle.

I wish more people could realize the value of suffering.
That is not to say one should go out and make themselves suffer,
but when you find yourself in a situation of struggle and suffering,
try to find the hidden meanings in it. Look deep within yourself and see what you are learning,
and then it doesn't seem so bad, and in hindsight, much can be gained.

That is just my own view on suffering.

Originally posted by winofiend
There are many resources for mindfulness out there. I don't think I can link to any from here...

Very interesting post, do you think you could point some of us in that direction?

Thanks!

Yeah can I agree with that. Having desires is just part of human nature. I think having expectations causes a lot of issues for many people.

I guess having high expectations of ourselves is important otherwise we could get lazy and not push ourselves in our work/activities. Having high expectations of employees and tools/equipment/computers/objects is (to a certain extent) beneficial but we need to accept that such things are partly beyond our control. When things don't go as we expected we need to find solutions rather than worry, stress or get overly angry about it.

If someone is sitting around worrying that they are missing out in life they need to change themself to attract what they feel they are missing out on, even if it doesn't come straight away.

reply to post by Socrato

Originally posted by Socrato
I believe with the Buddha and you that the cause of all suffering is striving. You can look at it negatively and say 'lack' or positively and say 'desire,' either way it is the same thing. The cause of suffering is existence. As soon as we exist we strive to prolong our existence and avoid death. That causes suffering. Very simple.

The cause of suffering is not existence. The cause of suffering is the mind feeling lack... like something is "missing" and this feels bad.

(And lets not confuse "pain" - an ouch in the moment, with "suffering" replaying a bad memory in the mind)

reply to post by windword

Originally posted by windword
reply to post by Socrato

 

I agree. Desire or lack, it's the same coin. Heads or tails?

Is the glass half empty or half full?

No. Saying that desire and lack are two sides of the same coin is like saying the leaf and the branch are two sides of the same coin - this is false. One is connected to the other - they aren't even opposites.

All desire comes from lack, but not all lack comes from desire.

Lack can manifest in more emotions than desire such as greed, jealousy, revenge, depression, etc.
Lack is the core of it all.

Originally posted by windword
reply to post by Socrato

 

We suffer because we don't know who we are. If one doesn't know who they are, it's impossible to be true to oneself.

You don't need to "know" who you are, you just have to "be" because you already ARE it.

Water will be wet, whether it "knows" itself or not.
The sun will shine whether it "knows" itself or not...

The only possible problem is MIS-identifying yourself, this will lead to actions not of your nature...
But even if you didn't know yourself and stay in a silent mind, NATURAL your actions will arise from YOU.

reply to post by winofiend


Yes, focus is a very powerful tool.
Concerning the happiness trap, this goes back to the root core of suffering - lack.

When one feels they "lack" happiness they try to get it, instead of understanding that this is just their belief that reality *SHOULD* be different than it is...

Going within - there is something CONSTANT and therefore "IT" cannot be taken away from you...
But to take pleasure in the material will lead to unhappiness as physical always changes (and dies)...

So when you remember the constant within, you take action and whether there is "success" or "failure" you still know everything is ok from inside, so there is no depression or anything like that.

reply to post by arpgme


Nice post, arpgme. Throughout my life I've had friends and family members jealous over someone else's good fortune, or rather, their own lack of good fortune. Though I've never said anything to them I've always wanted to say, "There are people three thousand miles away that have more money, are a lot smarter than you, and are better looking; are you jealous of them?" When they answer no, I would say, "So why are you jealous of people five feet away from you?"

It makes no sense.

Whatever I get in life, or don't get, I only want to be me. Someone else's good fortune has absolutely nothing to do with my life.

Originally posted by Darkblade71
Many things can be gained thru suffering.
It is a learning process if viewed from a certain angle.

I wish more people could realize the value of suffering.
That is not to say one should go out and make themselves suffer,
but when you find yourself in a situation of struggle and suffering,
try to find the hidden meanings in it. Look deep within yourself and see what you are learning,
and then it doesn't seem so bad, and in hindsight, much can be gained.

That is just my own view on suffering.

I have read similar on.. lets just say, less favourable forums..

Imagine you were suddenly ,,, Heads or tails.

Do you cry and suffer? Or do you accept inevitability and feel the gaping wound where your neck once was.



I think I'd be the latter.. Simply because this journey does not give refunds. Once you're off, you're off.

Better to be a burning lamp, than a cold dismal night.. on the shore of inevitability..

PS - And scrape every last drop of gravy there is laddo.. Red dripping gravy. Tis a shooooore thing..

Originally posted by arpgme
reply to post by Socrato

 

The cause of suffering is not existence. The cause of suffering is the mind feeling lack... like something is "missing" and this feels bad.

Both can be correct on different levels. Saying the cause of suffering is existence is absolutely correct. Saying the cause of suffering is the mind feeling lack is correct in the human experience.

reply to post by arpgme


The belief in 'other' than 'this' is what causes the feeling of lack. If you didn't 'think' there was more (than this that is happening) you would not feel lack.
That is why God says have no other gods. This here and now is what is happening - it is the beloved. Thought tells us there is something else, somewhere else but really there is no other - there is only this (experience). Thought can delude.
Stay with 'this' and the kingdom is revealed.
Believe in 'other' and you will feel lack.

Originally posted by soulshn

Originally posted by winofiend
There are many resources for mindfulness out there. I don't think I can link to any from here...

Very interesting post, do you think you could point some of us in that direction?

Thanks!

Haha No, See thats the funny bit. I can't. Haha don't mind me I've had a bit to drink. But You're all right.. Ahha... I say I hope you don't mind me hugging your wife... maam.. Ahha.. ahh se see what I did there.. ahh.. aww.. Oh well, you'd have to be me then.

Ok, whats going on here.. More lakes is it... you saw how I went with the last late didnt you? It was awful. Therer was that thing. and the old lady she fell down. No good, I don't want this. Aww I give up. You have it..

reply to [url= by arpgme[/url]


oh you poor fools-
"you think you're in heaven but you're living in hell." time alone, time will tell"
wisom or folly both lead to death so eat, drink, and work hard all your short days on the planet.
anyone who says the understand it all is a con

Originally posted by winofiend

Originally posted by Darkblade71
Many things can be gained thru suffering.
It is a learning process if viewed from a certain angle.

I wish more people could realize the value of suffering.
That is not to say one should go out and make themselves suffer,
but when you find yourself in a situation of struggle and suffering,
try to find the hidden meanings in it. Look deep within yourself and see what you are learning,
and then it doesn't seem so bad, and in hindsight, much can be gained.

That is just my own view on suffering.

I have read similar on.. lets just say, less favourable forums..

Imagine you were suddenly ,,, Heads or tails.

Do you cry and suffer? Or do you accept inevitability and feel the gaping wound where your neck once was.

I do both, I cry and suffer, and I accept and feel what it is.

Never been to less favorable forums

The reason you see this anywhere, here, or another forum anywhere, is because some people see suffering this way, myself included.

Lack, Desire, and Attachment. These three belong to the same family of the suffering that the Buddha states. When you have lack, you create an attachment for the desire of more. Thus lack arises in the individual, as long as you are hungry for more. Lack will continue to arise in you, therefore it is a lower desire of the stomach.

This is why all the teachings of the Buddha and Eastern teachers. Start their teachings in the progression of the lowest chakra to the highest. Where lack comes in, lays in the stomach or solar plexus for that matter. As Buddha has said, Desire is the Root of the problem. Or in other words Root Chakra, also known as the lowest chakra. You cannot simply ascend out of lack in the beginning. Every individual must soar above the Root of their desires. Before you can go to where it is lacking.

Creating any belief , which conceptualizes the way the universe works, is bound for failure. Buddhism isn't a philosophy, true Buddhism does not teach any concept of god at all, nor does it preach the way towards god realization. It is actually a way of life that heals your entire being from the long lasting effects of maya. Maya is where all the suffering is birthed from. A person with no desires, suffers the same as person with desires. renouncing desire as a means or a vehicle to obtain joy and fulfillment, leads to suffering as well.

The Buddha said that the source of all suffering is the attachment to outcomes. Desire is just one form of this attachment. It can also take other forms, such as revulsion, fear and fury.

When thought of in the terms the Buddha imparted, it makes much more sense and is much more complete.

All suffering is caused by lack of knowing.