You Can’t Handle the Truth!
It’s okay though, neither can I :)
First the word Truth.
The Buddha, quite hilariously, explained the problem with the truth:
“If every life has a different view of what is truth, how can they communicate with each other?”
Good one.
“The human view of life will include part of the truth of life but the truth of life goes far beyond human. “
“Because humans are one part of a whole system called Dharma. Truth then, must be true for every life in that system, true in any time, true in any space, true from any angle or life-form’s position.”
That sounds like a tough definition! Buddha gave three as a set.
Buddha called these “Three Eternal Dharma Truths.”
These remain true we can use them as a wonderful, foundational filter to develop wisdom for ourselves.
Do you agree or disagree he was successful in his definition?
Please comment and let me know!
The Three Eternal Dharma Truths.
The First Truth: All existing forms of Dharma (the mysterious power of life) are constantly changing. There is nothing you can hold.
The Second Truth: All the existing forms of Dharma come from combinations of the other forms. So all the individual forms appear to have individual forms. They have no individuality.
The Third Truth: The essence of Dharma has no form. It remains calm and unlimited. This is Nirvana — No beginning, no end.
How do we go against the first of these eternal truths and create suffering?
First, we suffer because we try to hold onto something that cannot be held.
Easy to say but hard to follow.
The first eternal Truth is helping us to awaken from (our own) trick of greediness.
What’s greed?
To quote my friend Matti:
“If one of something is good, then more of something is better.”
Even though I’m sure he was talking about cake, it still applies.
Here is a clearer version
“The habit to continuously search, which creates suffering for ourselves and others, now and/or in the future.”
Even Julie Andrews was trying to teach us this in the classic Sound of Music:
“How do you solve a problem like Maria?,
How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?”
The Buddha wasn’t just talking about moonbeams and dancing in the hills. Though both seem fun. He was helping us to see the true function of life is not to get something, but to enjoy to observe, develop, create and share.
Sometimes we take this illusion to the next stage and mistake what we are aware of for ourselves and this can also only end in suffering.
For example, we have all either experienced a loss of money or know of someone who lost a lot of money. Perhaps Cryptocurrency? :)
How do they talk?
“I lost everything!”
Really — how are you speaking then?
You must have something left.
So the Buddha used the word, “Essence” to describe what we have when we ‘lose’ everything.
In the Surangama Sutra, he detailed this as:
“When you return everything back to where it comes from, whatever is left, comes from nowhere. This is the essence, and it has neither beginning, nor end. This is your true heart.”
When we get tricked to think we are ‘wealthy,’ we create the setup for the fall.
Once we take the illusion of ourselves, we are against the natural process of the universe.
There are many Zen sayings about this subject
“Before you taste my tea you must first empty your cup.”
“A closed fist can pick up nothing.”
“An empty mind is nirvana.”
Even old-school English expressions:
“If you want to swing to another vine, you must first let go of this one.”
Even the monkeys worked that one out. Or they hit the forest floor a couple of times.
A better question is why are we still struggling with it?
Easy. Ego.
We think we can think our way through it. We think we know better. We think we don’t have to learn anything new.
But instead, we are left with bad tea, a closed fist, a full mind and a sore ass.
Oh and the original problem.
Besides holding material objects we have acquired in life, we try to hold onto our physical bodies. This, of course, is not possible. Because we insist on trying to achieve the impossible, we feel lost and insecure.
To be aware we cannot hold onto even our physical being makes us afraid.
This fear is one kind of suffering.
Take-away:
- Learn to observe without a judgemental habits to discover this truth everywhere for yourself. This is Wisdom Trust: Trusting your own development of wisdom.
- Train your body. When the body is happy and healthy, greediness decreases because you don’t need anything more to be happy.
- Read kind and wise and free philosophy to open the heart and “empty your cup.”
- You are not your experience.
