Namo Amida Bu.
Dear friends, the Prime Minister of England, Boris Johnson, is now in intensive care. If we weren't taking the virus seriously until now this piece of news probably will make us do so. The disease, the virus, the pandemic does not respect persons, does not respect power. Birth, disease, old age and death. These are four of the eight afflictions that the Buddha listed. The eight things that make up dukkha.
These are the first four: birth, disease, old age and death. The other four are being associated with things and people that we hate, being separated from things and people that we love, having the projects that we put our energy into fail, come to an end, become subject to changeableness, impermanence; and, finally, and in a sense, in summary, the five skandhas that are the whole process by which we attach to things in this world and have them internalised: the way that they become part of us, part of the meaning of our life, the mentality that we have. They enter into us, saturate us - they become what we are. They become a “self” and then we treat this self with a great conceit and this creates a cycle out of which dukkha leads to more dukkha.
The Buddha said that with dukkha there is the arising of passion. This is called samudaya. Dukkha, dukkha samudaya, more dukkha, dukkha samudaya, more dukka and so on. This is the cycle that we call samsara. The whole point of Buddhism is to transform the eight afflictions into the eightfold path. This is what Buddhism is about. How is that done? How does that happen? It happens through the arising of faith, the awakening of faith. This is bodhi. This is enlightenment. It has many names but the awakening of faith is the key to the transformation of this situation where we are lost in the dukkha-samudaya cycle, transforming this into the eightfold path.
It does not mean that you will not be born, you will not die, you will not have suffering, you will not have disease. It doesn’t mean that your loved ones will always be with you, that hateful things will never come, that your projects will go on forever. It doesn't mean things like that. It means that the spirit of your life will be different. The spirit of your life will be a spirit of love, of compassion, of joy, of equanimity. This is all the fruit that comes.
This is the eightfold path: right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right way of life, right effort, right mindfulness, and finally right samadhi: a consummate view of life, a big mind, a big heart, a big picture. This is Buddhism.
None of us can escape from the afflictions, from the dukkha. Whether you are rich, whether you are poor., whether you are a saint or a sinner, these eight afflictions will be part of your life. Whether your life is long or short, the eight afflictions will be part of it. Buddhism is not about endless happiness. Buddhism is about a noble life in the midst of the world as it actually is. This is Buddhism.
My heart goes out to the poor man who has been admitted to intensive care. I wouldn't wish it on anybody. Whether you agree with his politics or don't agree with his politics is quite beside the point. We all have to go through dukkha and now even the Prime Minister is afflicted in a very obvious way. But even when he was not afflicted in such an obvious way, still, dukkha was a part of his life, was what marked his life. We are all marked with dukkha. But because of this - and this is the twist - because of this, there is the possibility of the awakening of faith. And out of that awakening can come the wonderful life that we call the eightfold path. This is the message of Buddhism. I wish you all well. May all beings be well.
Thank you very much
Namo Amida Bu
Dharmavidya
David
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