The other side of the Buddha

The essence of Buddhism claims that :

Ones life ultimately leads to suffering of some form or the other, and that this suffering is caused by cravings or desire for worldly pleasures.

This teaching has been infused into the minds and hearts of millions of people all over the world. It seems Buddhism has stood the test of time. However, there is more to the Buddha with regard to existence itself. While reflecting upon my standing in this world and in turn this world’s standing, I came to realize that perhaps there is another side to the coin (one side being desire). That is uncertainty.

From the Buddha’s teachings it can be interpreted that the urge to live is not a desire,  for if it were, then the Buddha’s teachings would have been more along the lines of mass suicides. No, what the Buddha says is to learn to live. Alongside with ones own suffering and identify its source (a material desire) and finally learn to remove it.

Imagine a peaceful content peasant who is virtuous in nature. Who possess no more than what should suffice. Who wholeheartedly is ready to part with his excesses. Now imagine that this person walks along a path until he reaches a bridge in between two tall cliffs. He finds that he cannot cross due to the poor state of the bridge. Understanding this simple setback he decides to turn around and head back, but just then he notices another man who in his impatience had indeed used the bridge and was now clinging  on to dear life screaming for help. Now this simple content peasant has to make a choice. One which guarantees a certain future with his life intact, and another uncertain future. From the argument in the previous paragraph, an extended interpretation can be made: regard for life whether it be ones own or an others’ does not qualify as desire.

Of course certain brave people will claim that they would nimbly but surely attempt to rescue the trapped man. Other ‘uncertain’ people would claim that they would run to a nearby town to ask for help. I don’t think anybody would at least openly declare that they would ignore a trapped person, but the point here is not about the best course of action one could take. It is to point out the mental suffering with which one has to make a decision. For a typical person the thought process would be as follows:

dilemma

This cycle of thought is fueled by uncertainty and a way out of the mental suffering during this process is only by breaking this cycle. Hence the solution to suffering caused by uncertainty is very similar to the solution to suffering caused by material desire.

Break the cycle, and be satisfied.

For Desire: Be satisfied with what you already have.

For uncertainty: Be satisfied with what you decide.

This directly links to the concept of dharma(sense of duty): To do what we have to do regardless of the outcome. To be free from the suffering of desire we must possess a strong sense of contentment. To be free from the suffering of uncertainty we must possess a strong sense of duty. It is often said however intelligent one is, without a sense of direction that entire talent is lost. The forest of uncertainty is indeed deceptive, and can be tread with out falling into the traps of desire, only with the steadfast footwork of duty.

These two causes of suffering boost each other. Falling for one makes us fall for the other. Despite difficult times, remember, by inaction only the worse can be achieved not the better.