2) THE PROCESS OF RELATING TO LIFE and PLEASURE LEADS TO PREFERENCES


Part Two - version 1.0 :
THE PROCESS OF PERCEIVING, UNDERSTANDING AND RELATING TO LIFE and WHEREVER THERE ARE PLEASURABLE THINGS, PERSONAL PREFERENCES CAN ARISE

a) how we perceive relate to and understand life -
b) the 3 different forms of desire -
c) summary
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a) how we perceive relate to and understand life -

Depending on translation, often completely hidden in the 2nd. and 3rd. truth, is a list describing how the 6 senses work.

If we isolate this process with reference to the eye and seeing, it reads like this:

"The eye .... Forms... Eye-consciousness... Eye-contact... Feeling born of eye-contact... Perception of forms... Intention for forms... Craving for forms... Thought directed at forms... Evaluation of forms..."

Buddha appears to have listed a process in ten steps, and it seems this process describes how an individual perceives, understands and relates to life ...

i do not claim to understand these ten steps, but at this point, what i find extremly valuable in the 1st noble truth is twice repeated and seemingly totally out of context, where it says "in short, the five aggregates of clinging are dukkha".

These 5 aggregates of clinging are "form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness" : and this is actually, almost exactly, a short version of the process listed above, from the 2nd and 3rd noble truth!

... and this short version seems understandable (i make no claim to perfection - im sure there are many other interesting interpretations and i would welcome creative thought from others)

1) forms objects - a tree/the eye. 2) feeling - seeing it i.e. touching or feeling it through light waves. 3) perception - the sensation on the back of the retina. 4) mental formations - identifying - fixing the sensation with a mental image, a name, a memory. 5) consciousness - comparing and associating memories in creative thought.

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b) The 3 different forms of desire

It is also important to realise that the 4 noble truths understand desire in 3 forms ... "craving for sensuality, craving for becoming, craving for non-becoming" seems the best translation.

Again, it is a shame that the word "craving" is used, because it seems most thoughtful people would agree that even the slightest inclination is going to influence us ... and im open to suggestion, but i believe this is particularly relevant in the sense of wanting to be someone, wanting to confirm or change our self image and image for others, the continual adjustments we make with our everyday thoughts and dreams to find how we fit with the world, not just the special daydreams, the everyday chatter which runs in the background, redifining ourselves - i believe this influences practically all my thoughts.

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c) summary

And, so to tie things up, if "in short, the five aggregates of clinging are dukkha" means "the process of perceiving, understanding and relating to life is not running smoothly"

SO, ... WHY ? if we return to the 2nd and 3rd truth (the origination and dissolution of dukkha), it is explained that wherever there are pleasurable things, there this craving can arise or be abandoned - but if we use our common sense this would also apply to the slightest preference and so : wherever there are pleasurable things, there these preferences can arise or be abandoned"

So it seems very simple : "the process of perceiving, understanding and relating to life is not running smoothly, because wherever there are pleasurable things, personal preferences can arise" (and i suggest this is because personal preferences are what make us always want to be somewhere else, rather than here and now)

And this is actually so simple and obvious that i cant believe its possible ... it seems nothing very mystical or metaphysical - a mixture of perceptive or cognitive psychology and scientific objectivity - and could this really be one sense of what Buddha was talking about?

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But, here we are only talking about the facts of origination and dissolution of dukkha and we are only asked to exercise our awareness and understanding concerning this 2nd and 3rd truth. The way to end dukkha is the 4th truth, which is the eightfold path.