Life sucks….
And then you die….
And that’s okay.
Let me explain.
But before I do, a couple of points:
First of all let me just say that some fake Instagram life is no life at all. As an addiction doctor, I live in a real world with real people that have real problems. I see people trying to fix their lives and find some way to make it through this wasteland of broken dreams.
When I say something like “life sucks”. It just means that some people have it harder than others. We all have our struggles.
Second, a lot of the things I write come from questions that patients have asked me, questions that I have had, or just my random quest for knowledge.
I get a little uneasy talking about religion and self help . Mainly because…..I don’t know nuthin’
So don’t take my word for it. Do your own research.
Okay, so now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about Buddhism and how a philosophy based around the idea that life sucks can actually make you happier.
1) Suffering
Life is full of suffering and pain.
Everything that has a beginning has an end.
Everything that is living will die.
No one escapes.
We are born into it.
In the past, I questioned the Christian concept of “original sin”. But I think this is a good way of explaining it. At least to my brain.
The idea that man is fallen is the same idea that life is brutal and no one gets out alive.
Yeah, I know this is starting out dark. But hey, it’s like Nietzsche said “all truths are bloody truths”.
2) If I could just hold on
As a doctor, I don’t want to just know what your symptoms are, I also want to know what’s causing it. I want to find the root cause. The diagnosis.
Buddha diagnosed the cause of suffering to be eternal clinging. Our desires to have. Our inability to accept what is.
We want, we want, we want. Always eating, but never full.
Life is impermanence. And everything fades. Go ahead and try to hold onto something that will never last, it’s gonna hurt.
There are 3 key causes of suffering: greed, ignorance, and hatred.
There is a verse from Romans in the Bible: “The wages of sin is death”.
Similarly, the wages of greed, ignorance, and hatred is suffering. Death being the final nail in the coffin, so to speak.
Many of my patients can testify to these facts. They’ve lived it. They’ve experienced real heartbreak, shattered dreams, death, and destruction. As mentioned above, everyone has.
But for some people, suffering is all they know.
And if you stop here…. you will end up depressed and hopeless.
Bu it’s not hopeless.
3) There’s a better way
It doesn’t have to be this way.
There is an escape.
You can release yourself from suffering.
It’s called enlightenment. It’s called Nirvana.
Or, as Christians would say: salvation. “The gift of God is eternal life“.
Jesus said the kingdom was in our midst. It was right here all along.
We were created in the image of God, and we carry the torch of the Divine.
We seek the kingdom first and God’s righteousness and “all this will be added unto you”.
To end suffering, follow the way.
4) Follow the yellow brick road
If you want to get out of Oz, just follow the yellow brick road.
No….. wait. That’s not right.
You have to ride a hot air ballon.
No. You have to click your heels together.
Okay, I got side-tracked. My metaphor fell apart.
But anyway.
Buddhism teaches that the way to enlightenment is through the 8-fold noble path.
Right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
Basically, it’s a system.
A How to Guide for ENLIGHTENMENT
A practice that teaches you to reduce your suffering and the suffering of others. The more you reduce the suffering of others, the more you reduce the suffering in the world. The more you discipline your mind, then the more mindful you’ll be at reducing the burdens of the world.
It’s a cycle of joy and contentment and possibly even…….happiness.
At at a time before people had the teachings of Jesus…..Buddha brought a message.
A teaching of hope.
There are definite problems with the Buddhist philosophy. Some contradictions and loose ends. And I am in no way trying to make Buddhism a form of Christianity.
So, take from it what you will.
This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is the temple. The philosophy is kindness. ”
—Dalai Lama
Early Christians were called followers of the Way.
And what was the Way?
It was Jesus.
By death, he defeated death.
He taught that His way could lead you to something greater than wealth and greater than happiness….
a life of meaning…
a life of purpose…
a life worth living.
p.s.
Now for a corny joke.
Someone asked me if I was leaving yoga class early
I replied, “Nah Ima stay”
p.p.s
Extra points if you realized Namaste was a Hindu term and not Buddhist.
p.p.p.s.
Here’s a cool book I read once by Mother Teresa. I think you’ll enjoy it
Yes! And the Bible sorta has its own 8 fold path. The fruit of the spirit is a list of states of being. And there’s the bits abt the renewal of the mind and speech coming from the abundance of the heart and the right hand not knowing what the left is doing (intention), and dead faith without works (action &effort) and so on.
Then again… there’s also the problem of motivation. The 8 fold path teaches that we recognize fear without judgement but do not allow it to inform our decisions.
The Bible presents a contradiction. Fear is cast out by perfect love, but is the beginning of wisdom? God is love, but must be feared.
I think fear is not the origin of, but at the heart of most suffering.
How do you reconcile fear in the Bible? Is it a tool or a weapon?
(Bc I’m too far from Sunday school)
I think the answer lies in the context of what was being taught in the respective passages. The best I can tell is that perfect love casts out fear…is in relation to the fear of death. I think the fear of God being the beginning of wisdom is referring to respecting the ultimate source of truth. So in that way, there’s no contradiction. But I’m no expert in such things. Thanks for the comment and the insight on the 8fold path and it’s connection to the fruits of the spirit.
Well, I think the Bible teaching the fear of God is also in relation to the fear of death, no? Because isn’t the general gist that if you don’t believe you go to hell? I mean, I can see the argument that God’s will is that none should perish, but then … those who don’t turn from their ways will, “be consigned to the firey lake of burning sulfur?”