7:15 AM
mr.vam
Theory of Suffering & Happiness
in Theravada Buddhism
Preface
I have really very grateful to Teacher, Dr.Phra Seng Hurng Narindo for
giving me a chance to write this special topic named “Theory of Suffering &
Happiness in Theravada Buddhism”. It is very great opportunity for me to learn
specific with deeply understanding such as these meaning teaching between
suffering & happiness in Theravada Buddhism and I would like to give
special thinks to our Mahachularlongkorn University in which I have a good
chance to learn many different religions knowledge especially Buddhist
understanding knowledge that I much promoting in deep by sporting of this
University.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1
A Buddhist View of Suffering
2
The Meaning of Suffering
in Buddhism
2
The End of Suffering
4
A Buddhist view of
Happiness
5
True happiness
6
Buddhist Concept of Happiness
7
Conclusion
9
References
9
Introduction
The understanding of suffering & happiness has really deeply
definition to know exactly what Buddha taught us. There may be much kind of
different views in these both of Dhammas even in Buddhism but Buddha given us
the same meaning and definition to realize clearly without any doubt. Following
by Buddhist tradition, each sect and country has no the same belief however I
want to explain today about suffering & happiness from Theravada point of
views. It is I have really interesting in this topic what originally mention in
Theravada Buddhism these two kind of Dhmma which are original teaching of
Buddha belief in.
A
Buddhist View of Suffering
Let’s say you’re in a job or a
relationship that isn’t really working for you, but it’s not so horrible that
you have to flee. It’s a comfortable routine and provides security, and you can
name a whole bunch of reasons why it’s a perfectly good place to stay. But
you’re dissatisfied. Feeling a bit stuck like you’re not going anywhere. Oh
well, I hear you say. Life is suffering, right? We have to learn to accept what
is.
Yes, that is the gist of the
Buddha’s famous teaching on suffering in the Four Noble Truths. He said that
it’s an inevitable part of human existence to encounter pain and
disappointment, and we need to learn to accept that. Yes, these are very wise
words, but do they really apply here? All too often I’ve seen people use this
teaching to justify staying needlessly stuck in unhappiness, and therefore miss
reaching their true potential.
It is true to say that Buddhism
begins and ends in the study of suffering. This lies at its root just as it
lies at the root of life itself. We are born into suffering, like a dog without
a bone, into this life we’re thrown and we all must die and experience pain and
loss. Obviously, we also experience great joy as well, but suffering seems to
be a dominating influence of all life and in our lives. Buddhism concerns
itself very much with the study of suffering in all its forms, what it is, how
it arises and how its causes might be cut, overpowered or transformed into a
life-plan that minimises suffering coming into being, by cutting off its causes
within one’s life, attitudes and behaviour. In this way, a ‘new life’ can be
forged when effort and determination are harnessed to the task. Real change and
real improvement are only possible when great effort is made at the right
tasks. Such are the schools and paths of Buddhism.
It is thus a religion of
self-transformation and self-improvement, through application of continuous effort:
Because Buddhism is a religion primarily involved with suffering, so it
especially identifies with the working classes who are burdened with ‘failure
in life’ and the suffering of delay, lack of progression, frustration and
poverty. Buddhism therefore identifies
to some degree with all poor and suffering people like that, as it makes a
central study of such figures. It identifies as a subject of its own study,
therefore, with the grosser forms of human suffering, which are predominantly
found in the lower social strata of society. This is not to say that rich and
privileged people do not experience suffering, or even those happy people who
happen to be enjoying life now. They also suffer to some extent.
The Meaning of Suffering in Buddhism
The
word dukkha is
significant in Buddhism because of its association with the First Noble Truth -- that life
is dukkha. To understand what the Buddha meant, it's important to
understand what dukkha means.
The word usually is translated into English as "suffering." But it
also means temporary, limited and imperfect. In the Buddhist sense, it refers
to anything that is conditioned.
Something that is conditioned is not absolute or independent of other things. Thus,
something beautiful and pleasant is dukkha, because it will end. For example, a
new sports car is dukkha, because eventually it will be a rustbucket. When the
Buddha said that "life is dukkha," he didn't mean that life contains
dukkha. He meant exactly that life
is dukkha. Life is conditioned. Life is temporary and imperfect.
There is one things
that I really want to mention definition of Dhukkha that The
Buddha didn't speak English. This should be obvious, since the historical
Buddha lived in India almost 26 centuries ago. Yet it's a point lost on many
people who get stuck on the definitions of English words used in translations.
For
example, people want to argue with the first of the Four Noble
Truths, often translated as "life is suffering." That
sounds so negative. But, remember, the Buddha didn't speak English, so
he didn't use the English word, "suffering." What he said, according
to the earliest scriptures, is that life is dukkha."Dukkha" is Pali, a
variation of Sanskrit, and it means a lot of things. For example, anything
temporary is dukkha, including happiness. But some people can't get past that English word "suffering" and want to
disagree with the Buddha because of it. I've noticed that some translators are
chucking out "suffering" and replacing it with
"dissatisfaction" or "stress." I'm a bit dissatisfied with
that approach, however. Sometimes translators bump into words that have no
corresponding words meaning exactly the same thing in the other language. I
believe "dukkha" is one of those words.[1]
Understanding dukkha,
however, is critical to understanding the Four Noble Truths. And the Four Noble
Truths are the foundation of Buddhism. The Buddha taught there are three main categories
of dukkha. These are as below ….
1. Suffering or pain (dukkha-dukkha)
2. Impermanence or change
(viparinama-dhukkha)
3. Conditioned states (
samkhara-dhukkha)
Suffering
or Pain (Dukkha-dukkha). Ordinary suffering, as defined
by the English word, is one form of dukkha. This includes physical, emotional
and mental pain.
Impermanence
or Change (Viparinama-dukkha).Anything that is not permanent, that
is subject to change, is dukkha. Thus, happiness is dukkha, because it is not
permanent. Great success, which fades with the passing of time, is dukkha. Even
the purest state of bliss experienced in spiritual practice is dukkha.
Conditioned States (Samkhara-dukkha). To be conditioned is to be dependent on or affected by
something else. According to the teaching of dependent origination, all phenomena are conditioned.
Everything affects everything else. This is the most difficult part of the
teachings on dukkha to understand, but it is critical to understanding
Buddhism.
The End of Suffering
In any case, there are subtle
and pervasive forms of suffering and impure states of mind even for rich and
happy people. They also suffer losses, disappointments and frustrations. They
are also burdened with jealousy, avarice, fear and desire. Yet, suffering is
predominantly confined to the poor and lower classes compared with the rich.
One of the defining features of working people is that they suffer more than
average setbacks and disappointments in their lives. They therefore form a good
subject of study for Buddhists. Their position in society gives one a
justifiable sympathy towards them, and one is predisposed to empathise with their
suffering, even if a strict Buddhist might contend that their suffering is the
ripening of their own bad karma [is their ‘own fault’] or that it is illusory
in the deeper sense of it being an aspect of a non-existent self that is a
mental construct.
It can truthfully be said in
Buddhism that meditation and mindfulness on their own may not achieve
selflessness, because employed alone these forces do not directly counteract
the ego. The ego must be tackled; it must be subdued and diminished if true realisation
is to occur:
When asked “why end
suffering?” the obvious answer is that one wishes to end suffering because it
is the natural innermost urge of one’s being to be free from affliction.
However, in aspiring to the extinction of suffering, we should think not only
of our own affliction, but also of the pain and sorrow we inflict upon others
as long as we have not reached the perfect harmlessness of a passion free heart
and the clear vision of a liberated mind. If we regularly recollect the fact
that, on our way through samsaric existence, we inevitably add to the suffering
of others too, we shall feel an increased urgency in our resolve to enter
earnestly the path leading to our own liberation. [2]
The Noble Truth of the End of
Suffering declares that there is an escape from this misery; the ineffable
bliss beyond bliss of Nibbana (or Nirvana.) This is a state that cannot be
described or intellectually comprehended and which transcends all dualities.
This truth can and must be realized for oneself. The Fourth Truth is the
practical Truth of the Eightfold Path leading to the End of Suffering; Right View,
Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort,
Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. This truth is to be practiced.
A Buddhist View of Happiness
The object of
this evening’s discussion is to look at happiness from the point of view of the
Buddhist tradition. We can correctly say that happiness is truly universal: it’s
a universal goal, while at the same time being a universal mystery. We talk a lot
about happiness, and yet our definitions of happiness are many and varied. It’s
the subject that fuels religion, philosophy, economics, even sports and
recreation. But even with all of this, happiness boils down to how each of us
as individuals perceives it. In its over 2500 year run, the Buddhist tradition
has had a lot to say about happiness. But interestingly enough, the Buddha’s
first teaching was about the fact that woven into the fabric of life is
something called suffering, something which we see as being the polar opposite
ofhappiness. The Buddha went on to say that we cause our own suffering,
unhappiness if you will; but he also said that we can get beyond this unhappiness,
transcend our own mistakes made over many, many lifetimes, and ultimately
experience true happiness, something we call Nirvana. So let’s take a look at another teaching from
the Buddha that might shed a different light on the situation.
“If by renouncing a limited
happiness one would see an abundant happiness, let the spiritually mature
person, having regard to the abundant happiness, sacrifice the limited
happiness.”[3]
So this suggests that
the Buddha might ask you to consider picking yourself up and going after a more
“abundant happiness.” How does this square with the idea of accepting one’s
suffering? Well let’s examine your situation more closely. Imagine for a moment
that you’re in a new job or relationship, completely free of the things that
are making you unhappy right now. Close your eyes and really put yourself in
that scene so you get a good visceral sense of what it might be like. How does
it make you feel? Free? Joyful? Energetic? And with all those positive
feelings, how likely will you be to start something new, take on new
challenges, and grow? And how likely will you be to share this positive energy
with others?
True Happiness
We talk a lot
about happiness, and yet our definitions of happiness are many and varied. It’s
the subject that fuels religion, philosophy, economics, even sports and
recreation. But even with all of this, happiness boils down to how each of us
as individuals perceives it. “Happiness (sukkha)
is that which can be borne with ease; suffering (dukkha) is that which cannot be borne with ease.” True happiness
can be broadly defined as a mind-state. The characteristics of a mind-state
include a sense
of universality, continuity and endurance. The mind-state we call true
happiness is not temporary, not hit-and-miss; it is not grounded in purely
sensual gratification; it does not deal in extremes. It is constant and
all-pervasive, and above all it is that which can
be borne with
ease. In order to attain this mind-state, according to Buddhist teaching, we
must literally begin at the beginning. In other words, we must have a starting
point. This starting point is what Buddhist teaching calls samvega. Samvega has four basic
elements.
1. The
first element is that we see the ultimate futility of a life that centers only
around the satisfying of sensual desires.
2. The
second element is that we see how complacent we are when it comes to finding
true happiness and to not be satisfied with indulging that complacency.
3. The
third element is the development of a feeling of urgency. We must feel an
urgent need to break out of this futility.
4. The
fourth element is to accept that Samsaric existence, going round and round in
the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, is ultimately self-defeating. Noble
Eightfold Path is the path that leads to the ultimate happiness, Nirvana, the
ultimate Bliss, it is also the path of the ultimate happiness.
Besides being a
path, the Noble Eightfold Path is also a state...a state of mind, a state of happiness,
something which is universal, ongoing, consistent, enduring. This is the
happiness of encountering a path that will allow us to liberate ourselves from
the round of birth, suffering, aging, death and rebirth. When we look at it
closely, we really don’t feel happiness when we speak lie to others.
Right
concentration, all kind of happiness come from meditation The happiness of
possessing calmness and insight. The happiness of a state of mind that is
balanced And alert, calm and energetic. The happiness of doing just what our
Fundamental Teacher the Buddha did to become liberated from suffering.
Of course, the
way in which we can do all these things was outlined by the Buddha. He called
it the Noble
Eightfold Path. But while the Noble Eightfold Path is the path that leads to
the
ultimate
happiness, Nirvana, the ultimate Bliss, it is also the path of the ultimate
happiness. Besides being a path, the Noble Eightfold Path is also a state...a
state of mind, a state of happiness, something which is universal, ongoing,
consistent, enduring. It’s the practice of happiness in our daily existence.
Let’s look at this Noble Eightfold path in terms of each of its elements. By
examining each step of the path (remembering of course that each step is interconnected
with all the other steps), we can see how each one produces its own kind of
happiness.
Buddhist Concept of Happiness
Happiness
in Pali is called Sukha, which is used both as a noun meaning happiness, ease,
bliss, or pleasure, and as an adjective meaning blissful or “pleasant.”
To
understand precisely the nature of happiness, a brief discussion of the
Buddhist analysis of feeling is necessary. Feeling (vedana) is a mental factor
present in all types of consciousness, a universal concomitant of experience.
It has the characteristic of being felt, the function of experiencing, and as
manifestation the gratification of the mental factors. It is invariably said to
be born of contact (phassa), which is the coming together (sangati) of a sense
object, a sense faculty, and the appropriate type of consciousness. When these
three coalesce consciousness makes contact with the object. It experiences the
affective quality of the object, and from this experience a feeling arises
keyed to the object’s affective quality.
The Buddha
enumerates contrasting types of mental happiness: the happiness of the
household life and that of monastic life, the happiness of sense pleasures and
that of renunciation, happiness with attachments and taints and happiness
without attachments and taints, worldly happiness and spiritual happiness, the
happiness of concentration and happiness without concentration, Aryan
happiness, mental happiness, happiness without joy, happiness of equanimity,
happiness not aimed at joy, and happiness aimed at formless object. Happiness
associated with the wholesome roots produced by the renunciation of sensual
enjoyments is spiritual happiness (niramisasukha) or the happiness of
renunciation (nekkhammasukha). The happiness of Jhana is a spiritual happiness
born of seclusion from sense pleasures and the hindrances (pavivekasukha). It
is also a happiness of concentration (samadhisukha).
There are numerous ways of bringing
happiness. “Friends bring happiness when a need has arisen; pleasant is
contentment with whatever there might be; merit is pleasant at life’s ending;
and pleasant is the destruction of all suffering. Happy it is, in the world, to
be a mother, and happy it is to be a father; happy, in the world, is the life
of a recluse and happy is the state of Brahman. Happy is age-long virtue and
happy is confidence well-established; happy is the gaining of wisdom and happy
it is not to do evil. “Happy is the arising of the Awakened Ones; happy is the
teaching of the Good Law; happy is the unity of the group and happy is the
ascetic life of the united.” [4]
In pursuit
of happiness, many people are engaged in sense pleasure or self-indulgence in
the extreme. Because of the availability of ample opportunity for people to
indulge in sensual pleasure, the human realm is called a plane of sensual
pleasure.
As
enjoying sensual pleasure is called happiness, to be born as a human being with
all the senses complete, is a happy occurrence, for one can experience a very
high degree of sense pleasure through the sensory stimuli. He can be happy
thinking that he has plenty of wealth, for the very thought “I have enormous
wealth”, gives him a secure feeling. This feeling of possessiveness is his
happiness (atthisukha). He can be happy consuming his wealth in any manner he
deems secure, entertaining his senses in any manner he wishes, or sharing with
his relatives, friends, or giving in charity to whomever he pleases, or saving
as much as he pleases, so he can use whenever he or his family member needs (bhogasukha).
He can be happy thinking that he has earned his wealth honestly (anavajjasukha)
and he can be happy thinking that he is free from debts.
Buddhism speaks of different kinds of
happiness. Monks’ happiness (pabbajjà-sukha)
is contrasted with laymen’happiness (gihi-sukha).
In the same way happiness of sensual enjoyment (kàma-sukha) is contrasted
with happiness of renunciation (nekkhamma
sukha). Similarly, happiness of acquisition (upadhi sukha), happiness of having influxes (sàsava sukha), physical happiness (kàyika sukha) are contrasted with
happiness of non-acquisition (nirupadhi-sukha),
happiness of freedom from influxes (anàsava
sukha) and mental happiness (cetasikha-sukha).[5]
For these
reasons, happiness has been defined by some as a satisfaction of the will. If
you obtain what you have been dreaming, you are said to be happy. Pursuing this
definition of happiness, you may do countless things to fulfill your wishes, so
you will be happy. You may spend all your time, money, energy, skill and all
the opportunities to do your best to make your life happy, or to bring
happiness to the lives of your family members, your friends, your relatives,
and probably to your country.
Considering
the possible variables available for the will to desire, this definition is
inadequate. If you will to procure something perishable, changeable,
impermanent and subject to slipping away from your grasp, procuring that
particular object makes you more unhappy than not procuring it. Or if you
obtain something and you have to spend your time, energy, peace, skill even at
the risk of your health to protect it, safeguard it, and secure it, then you
experience more unhappiness than happiness.
Conclusion
As much as
I understood these both nature Dhammas which are Sukha & Dhukka. At first, Happiness
is not considered to be a feeling to experience, for it is feeling that
generates desire. For instance, if the feeling happens to be pleasant, desire
arises in the mind for obtaining what is felt. All happiness derived from any
feeling may turn into unhappiness. If happiness turns into unhappiness, then
what we experience is suffering . True happiness is the happiness attained by
eliminating dukkha. The cause of suffering should be eliminated totally,
completely, never to return again, in order to eliminate suffering. With total
annihilation of the cause of suffering, permanent happiness is possible. So
without suffering we cannot reach true happiness and also there is no avoiding
a little moment for our worldly human in this world except from Sukha &
Dhukka.
References
2. The Vision of Dhamma, Buddhist Writings of
Nyanaponika Thera, Buddhist Publication Society, Rider & Co.Ltd., London,
1996, Pg-306
3 . The Dhammapada, Verse 290 (chapter 21, verse
1). Translation by Sangharakshita, Available for Free Download at www.sangharakshita.org.9/14/2012
4.
[Dhammapad.
194,331-333] http://www. Bhavana Society
Resources Dhamma Articles Bhante Gunaratana Articles Buddhist Concept of Happiness.htm 9/9/1012.
5. .
Essentials of Buddhism, Pategama Gnanarama, Ven.(PhD), Principal Buddhist and Pali Collage of SIngapre, First Published in Singapore,
2000, Chapater-3, Pg-38.
[1] http://buddhism.about.com/od/thefournobletruths/a/dukkhaexplain.htm
9/10/2012
[2] The Vision of Dhamma, Buddhist Writings of
Nyanaponika Thera, Buddhist Publication Society, Rider & Co.Ltd., London,
1996, Pg-306
[3]
The Dhammapada, Verse 290 (chapter 21, verse 1). Translation by Sangharakshita,
Available for Free Download at www.sangharakshita.org.9/14/2012
[4] [Dhammapad. 194,331-333] http://www. Bhavana Society Resources
Dhamma Articles Bhante Gunaratana
Articles Buddhist Concept of
Happiness.htm 9/9/1012.
[5]
Essentials of Buddhism, Pategama Gnanarama, Ven.(PhD), Principal Buddhist and Pali Collage of
SIngapre, First Published in Singapore, 2000, Chapater-3, Pg-38.
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