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Satya Robyn explains the first Buddhist Noble Truth, dukkha, often translated as suffering. The teaching covers birth, sickness, aging, death, separation, and loss, then explores skillful ways to be present with difficulty rather than avoid it.
Satya Robyn explains the first Buddhist Noble Truth, dukkha, often translated as suffering. The teaching covers birth, sickness, aging, death, separation, and loss, then explores skillful ways to be present with difficulty rather than avoid it.
Hi everyone, just wanted to speak for a minute or two about the first teaching the Buddha gave, the first noble truth. You've probably heard it: life is suffering. That's how it's usually translated. Life is suffering. It sounds pretty miserable, isn't it? Why would I want to join a religion or community that believes life is suffering. When I first encountered Buddhism, I saw this translated in a few different ways. Life is discomfort. Life is like a wonky wheel on a cart. I think that's even one of the analogies that Buddha uses, like there's always a bump, there's always a bump every time the wheel goes around. Luckily for us, we don't need to worry too much how that word is translated. The word is dukkha in Sanskrit and dukkha in Pali. It sounds very similar in both of the languages the Buddha's teachings were recorded in. We don't have to worry too much about how it was translated because the Buddha defined his terms. Dukkha is being born, getting sick, getting old, dying, being separated from people that you love, being associated with people that you don't love, not getting what you want, having things that you do want taken away from you. And of course, these are things that happen to all of us. We all find ourselves in those situations at one point or another, and they all create an emotional reaction in most of us, at least. The Buddha said this truth was a noble truth, and he didn't kind of mean, oh, it's noble to suffer, so we should put ourselves in situations that mean we're suffering a lot, like some kind of method actor deeply trying to get to grips with the truth of our suffering character. Just that these things are unavoidable, and it's noble to sit with them, and it's ignoble to avoid them. Of course, in life we try and avoid these things as much as possible, but when they happen, What's best spiritually, psychologically, practically, is to find ways of being with them that allow us to be steady in the face of what's happening. And that's what the rest of the Four Noble Truths and the rest of the Buddha's teachings is all about. And I guess, uh, that's what I'll talk about in the next videos. But for this one, it's the First Noble Truth. Things happen in life that are difficult, and what's right when they happen is to find ways of being with them that allow us to be steady and present and compassionate at the same time.
