Bayon Temple, Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia May 3, 2010 (Flickr/Suhaimisalleh)
"I" suffered a great loss recently. It led me to know dukkha intimately. What now is "suffering" in the Buddha's own words?
Dukkha
"Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering; association with the unloved is suffering; separation from the loved is suffering; not getting what one wants is suffering. In short, the Five Aggregates of Clinging are suffering" (SN 56.11).
Ven. Sariputra explained: "And what is birth? Whatever being born, taking rebirth, descent into the womb, coming-to-be, coming forth, the appearance of The Five Aggregates, and [therefore] the acquisition of [sense] spheres of the various beings in this or that group, this is called birth....
Sia with Eckhart Tolle on loss, from "Even the Sun Will Die" (Sounds True)
"And what is the suffering of separation from the loved? There is the case where desirable, pleasing, attractive sights, sounds, fragrances, flavors, or tactile sensations do not occur to one. Or one has no connection, no contact, no relationship, no interaction with those who wish one well, who wish for one's benefit, who wish for one's comfort, who wish one security from bondage, nor with one's mother, father, brother, sister, relatives, friends, or companions. This is called the suffering of separation from the loved" (MN 141).
This loss made me more moral. I have taken joy in good behavior and mindful conduct. Except for talking. Boy, do I talk. And whine. And wonder. And ask who, what, why, where, when, and what now? I forgot that I could decide. Then I remembered. Semi-Buddhist Eckhart Tolle reminded me.
