2) THE ALTERNATIVE MEANING OF DUKKHA : NOT RUNNING SMOOTHLY
Part One - version 1.0 :
THE ALTERNATIVE MEANING OF DUKKHA : NOT RUNNING SMOOTHLY
Id
like to talk about an alternative meaning in buddhas 4 noble truths,
and id like to start with some ideas which i believe these days are
commonly understood.
To listen well, to listen reliably and
for the process of listening to run smoothly, we need many things, and
one of these is we need to listen objectively ... free of any personal
wishes about what we hear ...
Infact the slightest preference
or inclination for or against what we hear, will influence how we hear
the sound and how we understand it.
A preference is a
pre-reference - psychologists talk of conditioning, we are talking about
preconditions, preconceptions and expectations because these colour our
sensing, perception and understanding.
To see well and reliably, we also need to be free of all preferences.
Now,
i love how buddhism recognises 6 senses : the first 5 which we all
know, and in buddhism the 6th, is the mind sensing thoughts ... there
are many reasons for this, but one of the ways we can use the idea, is
we can learn from hearing and seeing well, how to think well ... and so
it follows and i believe most people would also agree that thinking only
functions really well, runs smoothly and reliably, when one does this
objectively and is free of all pre-references, preconceptions and
preconditions.
And to conclude this introduction, i believe
most people would also have no problem with the idea that all our
preferences originate in feelings of pleasure or displeasure.
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So
now, we come to the tricky bit! What id like to point out is about the
2nd and 3rd noble truth. The 2nd and 3rd noble truth describe the origin
and dissolution of DUKKHA (which according to almost all translations
is "suffering", one translation uses "stress").
There are
several points which make this text very hard to understand ... i can
well imagine how many others have struggled over years trying to make
sense of it.
Firstly, very simply it is very unfortunate that
most translations talk of craving or greed, indicating only the extreme
forms of desire - normally buddhism adresses all forms of desire, and
even the slightest personal inclination or preference will prevent a
fully spontaneous reaction, or the most creative or fulfilling
experience ... most buddhists would surely agree that even the slightest
personal wish or preference will influence mindfulness during
meditation, ... or not?
Secondly, often completely
unrecognisable in paraphrased translations, however the full text shows a
10 point list of the perceptual and conceptual process involved in each
of the 6 senses. (this process and the 3 forms of desire are discussed
in PART 2).
In summary what the 2nd and 3rd noble truth
actually say is : wherever there are pleasurable things, there this
craving can arise or be abandoned; - and this idea is apllied to the
sensing process of each of the senses.
And the 2nd and 3rd noble truth are called : the origination and dissolution of DUKKHA
And
now, the main point of this first part : lets look at this word: DUKKHA
: our source is Pali - and these days in the wikipedia (July 2012) when
we look under "dukkha" it is translated as "suffering",
"unsatisfactory", "unease", "anxiety", or "dissatisfaction"
However what i find interesting is under the etymology : where it says:
"The
ancient Aryans who brought the Sanskrit language to India were a
nomadic, horse- and cattle-breeding people who travelled in horse- or
ox-drawn vehicles. Su and dus are prefixes indicating good or bad. The
word kha, in later Sanskrit meaning "sky," "ether," or "space," was
originally the word for "hole," particularly an axle hole of one of the
Aryan's vehicles. Thus sukha … meant, originally, "having a good axle
hole," while duhkha meant "having a poor axle hole," ... "
So,
dukkha originally refered to the efficiency or inefficiency of the axle
and axle hole ... the effect of which may be discomfort or suffering or
not getting there on time or breaking down on the way.
So,
Buddha, maybe made a comparison with a simple wheel axle, so very
important for everyday life in those days, and though i am no expert, it
seems such simple axles have existed since around 3,000BC (Buddha lived
500BC), ... i can only imagine these simple axles needed a craftsman
who knew which woods to use and how to cut them so they would last for
years, and to reduce the friction probably good axles had metal coatings
with animal grease to run smoothly ... then these days axles with ball
bearings are the least of our transport problems - in those days to get
the axle running smoothly was the only really important thing.
I
am not an expert on languages ... however what appears clear, is one
sense of what budddha may be asking us to do, in modern terms, is simply
to get things running smoothly.
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And
this gives a whole new possibility in the meaning of the 2nd and 3rd
noble truth : an idea which to the modern mind seems almost commonly
understood as having something to do with scientific objectivity; but
2,500 years ago it would have been revolutionary : that the origination
and dissolution of dukkha (things not running smoothly) is any little or
big preconditioning preference, which influences any one of the senses,
at any stage of the sensing process.
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Now,
another interesting point is that if there are 2 perspectives on a
subject, then there are usually 3 or 4 more which could also be valid
... eg could Buddha have intended a double meaning ? |