Buddha Teachings: Unease of Existence - Essay Example

?Existence is unease In Buddhism, there are three marks of existence or characteristics that govern the entire existence-Anica or impermanence, Duhkha or suffering, and annata or not-self. These concepts are intertwined in one way or another. This is because everything arises as result of causes and conditions that are constantly in flux. This means, there is nothing in the universe which is fixed except the process of change itself. This leads to impermanence in existence and suffering that is accompanies this fact. Truth and suffering are classified into three categories that further demonstrate the unease in the entire existence. These are ‘suffering of suffering’, suffering of change and persuasive. Firstly, ‘suffering of suffering’ is ordinary suffering that result from pain and associated by lower realms of existence such as in the human world. Secondly, suffering of change on the other hand encompasses sadness that results from loss of a happy condition, or that that arises when unhappy condition develops. Lastly, persuasive suffering refers to the internal frustrations. This suffering causes unrest and therefore an individual cannot enjoy any pleasant situations. Every living thing in the universe has desires that it would wish to be quenched. These desires for and attachments to worldly things if not accomplished lead to suffering. Therefore, the entire existence is surrounded by suffering that leads to pain. This is not just the pain of life but rather the uncertainty that exists at the center of the common universe, which arises from a person's intention to keep his life and achieving the true enlightenment. Gods are inclined to be proud and are considered to have a higher status in existence because they have very long life times which seem eternal i.e. they generally occupy the highest realms of existence. However, this fact makes them anxious of their life ending because they are never certain of the state at which they are likely to be reborn in. this is can attributed to condition that, suffering is more persistent to and increases in the lower realms. Therefore, since nothing can be considered eternal even in the heavenly realms there is constant uncertainty or unease in the entire existence. Chain of "interdependent origination" All things in the universe arise, abide and cease to exist through numerous causes that exist with the infinite web or interconnection in the universe. As consequence, the chain of interdependence stipulates that everything in the universe is interconnected and interacts with or affects other things in the universe. This chain can also take a perspective that objects have a context for which they are inseparable, or everything that exists is because of other causes or conditions in the universe. In this chain, nothing is absolute because all effects produced in the universe were caused by other effects, and they themselves cause other effects. This is mainly the principle behind the law of cause and effect. For example, for a table to exist seed of a tree must have grown somewhere, sunlight, water and carbon dioxide must have been used in growth of the tree. People had to exist who are a result of people having sex, saw mill and machines had to be designed to convert the logs to timber etc. This is chain is infinite because each event that contributes to the final product is part of another infinite chain. In addition, the making of the table was as result of another cause and effect The chain of interdependent origination has twelve links or nidanas that explain how a chain of causes leads to other causes. These links are circular in nature as described in the Buddhist wheel of life. The Buddhist wheel of life provides an illustration of the Buddhist teaching. These links are: ignorance which is form of spiritual blindness or the lack of understanding in the teaching of Buddha; volitional formation or karma formation dictates the formation of action, thought process and speech which are essential in determining an individual’s fate; consciousness which defines what happens when the body senses detects or responds to the external environmental phenomena; faculties and objects which are the combination of the six body senses with their corresponding objects; contact with the environment, or the contact with faculties and objects; sensation that leads to desire and aversion; craving is the major cause for stress and distress; clinging ; becoming , birth; old age and death. Interdependent origination and the nature of the world For Buddhist, the law of interdependent origination attempts to explain the origins of suffering, ignorance and mental formation in the world in a more accurate sense. This is because the nature of the world is to create illusionary or fictitious images that are driven by desires. These desires are either clung on or rejected by people leads to greed or hatred. Consequently, being subject to greed and hatred, and clouded by illusion of permanency makes it hard for people to realize that the universe is mirage rather than the kinds of reality that we make ourselves believe to be. For example, People in the world believe in divine being or existence of god. This also leads to the concept of indestructible or immortal souls. However, the interdependence origination suggests that phenomenon depends upon their conditions for their existence and that nothing answering to an essence can be located in those conditions. Moreover, given that there’s nowhere else that an essence can originate from, it follows that the phenomenon arises from conditions that are essence. The above statement means that impermanence and lack of souls are necessary conditions for our cause and effects. This is because souls are unchangeable, and invariant things in the world cannot exist in the world of cause and effect. This leads to the conclusion that it is absurd to have concept of souls in world of interdependent origination. In addition, the interdependent origination is based the law of cause and effect. Thus, all phenomena that happen in the world are built on sets of relations or events which are consistent and can be explained. This concept is consistent with modern scientific analysis of the world. This explains the nature of things happening around us such plant growth, moving of car and building construction. For example, a car moves because of it has wheels and engine, gasoline, technology etc. Present awareness and Suttas Present awareness enables one to see the truth about the world. The world is full of suffering that result from desires and impermanence. Consequently, a well taught and imparted teaching from a supremely enlightened one aids in diminishing desires. This helps in ending suffering and therefore, it seem as if an individual has escaped the world. However, an individual’s existence will still depends on the on others nutriments such as climate, food, karma and conscious. Read More

 

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