Buddhist Belief – The Third Noble Truth
“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.”~~~ Peace Pilgrim
First things first — as you know my regular posting to the Buddhist Belief Blog suddenly dropped off last week. Unfortunately, the area where I live got caught in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Without spending time on the entire story (if you want to know the whole story of this adventure, send me an email and I’ll be happy to fill you in), what’s important to you is that we lost our power here. Not just in my neighborhood but throughout half the state of Ohio where I live. No power – no posting for about a week.
We are back and ready to embark on the next installment of the Buddhist Belief.
We’ve been looking at the teachings of Buddha from the point of view of my own studies and an effort to bring you the basic teachings in language you can understand. We started with Buddha’s enlightenment experience, and showed you a film series about his life and how he achieved his enlightenment. We know that his basic teachings were the four facts of life, the Four Noble Truths.
The First Noble Truth is that life is dissatisfying. (Buddhists refer to this as dukkha.) In basic terms it says whatever we create, or is conditioned by us in some way, just isn’t going to make the grade in the long run.
The Second Noble Truth, is the cause of this dissatisfaction, or dukkha, is our clinging to those dissatisfying things. It’s the process of investing ourselves in the fool’s gold. It’s our greed for things which are illusory — things that are fleeting and impermanent. It’s our attachment, our insatiable thirst for more, the clutching, the identifying with everything in our lives as me or mine. It’s our resistance to the inner knowledge we all have that things are not permanent. It’s our clinging to the past, or chasing after the rainbows of the future, rather than accepting what is at this moment.
So, as some of my wonderful readers have expressed desire to learn more, let us embark on the next fact of life, the Third Noble Truth — or Nirvana. My readers are saying, “Enough with the suffering, Ron! Let’s get into the good stuff!”
Yes, the Third Noble Truth — the end of suffering.
One of the prime prerequisites for a clear understanding of the Third Noble Truth is an acceptance of the first two Noble Truths — there is dissatisfaction in our life and the cause is our own craving, attachment and resistance to impermanence. The Third Noble Truth is where it can end. This is where we can find the great lasting inner peace, the fulfillment — yes, even enlightenment itself.
Over the past twenty or thirty years I’ve read volumes on Buddhism. Much of those readings were wonderful — others were good, although sometimes difficult to understand. The one fact that runs through all of the multitude of volumes of Buddhist Belief is this basic truth — as long as we hang onto the craving, the clinging, the attachment, the holding on to that which cannot ever be held for long, we will suffer. Once we learn to relinquish our desire for more and more, come to accept the fact that everything changes — that nothing remains — and dissolve our wanting — then, and only then, will we find Nirvana.
Buddha taught that Nirvana is always here. It is in the present, the Now. It’s the flip-side of our clinging and craving. It can be experienced in a moment — this moment. It doesn’t have to take a lifetime for you to find your inner peace. You don’t have to die for you to find your moment. It can be there in an “Oprah moment” — one of those “Ah-Ha” moments. If you were to look up the meaning of the word Nirvana, you would find that it means the extinction or the annihilation of suffering. It can happen simply by letting go of our neediness, our clinging, our craving, our attachments, our greed and our delusions. When all the conflicts generated by these things are no longer controlling our lives, we will reach the place where suffering ceases to exist.
I can hear you saying, “Okay, Ron. We can see there is a truth here. We can also see it’s not as simple as you describe. What’s the catch?”
I know people reading this blog are intelligent — they are people who can discern when something might need more information. Most of us are either afraid – or unwilling — or just not able to go through this “letting go” process right now. We just don’t want to. The way we are today is where we feel the most comfortable. It’s where we live, right? What a frightening concept to even think about messing with our “zone of comfort”. Is this the right time and place for us to be giving up on all the things we truly want to hang on to?
One of the readers of this blog told another reader that it’s all there if you want it — and — if you’re ready for it. Maybe we want to keep doing what we’re doing. This is a good time to be certain that we’re being completely honest with ourselves. Reading this may be creating some conflicting emotions within you. There’s a lot of fear in the letting go process. This may be the time to make this life-changing move — and it may not. Only you can make the choice.
Obviously, the Third Noble Truth of Buddhist Belief needs further examination. If there aren’t any more once-in-a-lifetime weather events around here, I’ll be back in a couple of days to continue the discussion.
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There’s something else I’d like to pass along to you. I’ve been a member of the Spiritual Cinema Circle for several years. This membership has been a wonderful pleasure. Each month I get a DVD with a full-length feature film and 3 shorter films, and they’re mine to keep and share with family and friends.
This month it stars Michael Douglas as he digs for love and buried treasure in the feature film, King of California.
Yes, from our friends at Spiritual Cinema Circle, comes King of California, a quirky, fascinating, and original movie starring Academy Award® winning actor Michael Douglas. Douglas plays Charlie, whom we meet as he is released from a mental institution, although it’s not quite clear whether he is “cured.” Waiting for Charlie at home is his teenage daughter, Miranda, played by the gifted young actress, Evan Rachel Wood. Any hopes Miranda has for a return to normalcy, however, are immediately dashed as Charlie enlists her in a hunt for Spanish treasure. The Don Quixote-like quest results in a dig beneath the local Costco. The loving, confrontational, and extremely complex father-daughter relationship between Charlie and Miranda is tested and strengthened throughout the film, culminating in a surprise ending.
Also, we have: Monsoon (Short Film): Beautifully shot in Mumbai, India, this film asks how we can honor and respect our loved ones’ wishes, even if they are contrary to our own.
And …Tocar Y Luchar (Short Film): An incredible story in a time when turning a country around seems almost impossible — here’s proof that it’s not.
Plus … Detour (Short Film): In this intriguing short film, Julia intends to leave the traffic jam of her life behind until she meets a strange character who gives her a new perspective.
Receive King of California and the 3 great short films free (plus nominal shipping fee), by visiting Spiritual Cinema Circle at this link:
Spiritual Cinema Circle Free Trial
– be sure to do this before October10.
Here are some video clips so you can get a glimpse of what’s being offered:
Enjoy the films,
I know I sure do — they’re a bright spot in every month.
“Spiritual Cinema Circle is providing a great service to those who want to evolve and be entertained at the same time.”~~~ Deepak Chopra
Start your Free Trial Today By Clicking Here:
Spiritual Cinema Circle Free Trial
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Always remember this wonderful quote from Buddha ….
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”~~~ Buddha
Shanti everyone, … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)
“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”~~~ Buddha
Have a peaceful day!! —
Ron Rink
http://www.theleaderinside.com
http://www.wecould2.com
http://www.buddhistbelief.com
Tags: Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist, Buddhist Belief, First Noble Truth, Four Noble Truths, inner peace, Nirvana, Peace, Second Noble Truth, Third Noble Truth