Dharma Talk (April 10): "Unsatisfactoriness" and Human Hope

[Jim Eubanks (Shi Yong Xiang)]

Dear Members and Friends of CPB:

This coming Thursday, we will examine the third and final
characteristic of existence that is highlighted in Buddhism:
"Unsatisfactoriness" (dukkha). Like the concept of
"selflessness" (Anatman) discussed last week, dukkha is an often
misunderstood teaching in Western Buddhism. Often translated as
"suffering," this explanation misses an important point, for dukkha
implies a deeper meaning, one that includes our existential anguish as
well. This deeper, psychoemotional unsatisfactoriness calls on us to
acknowledge that our day-to-day lives are not quite as settled as we
would like, our minds are not quite as calm as we would hope, and our
actions are not quite as collected as we would want. Dukkha includes
the normal kinds of human suffering, but it also includes the
pervasive feeling of groundlessness at the heart of our impermanent
condition.

An important result of an intimate understanding and acknowledgment of
dukkha is that we can take steps to remedying its grip on our lives.
There is not only hope, but a solution that is obtainable by us in
this present world. Dukkha is not a punishment or permanent
condition, but emerges as a result of our denial of the impermanence
and change at the heart of our lives. If we learn to see and accept
impermanence, we can transform ourselves in a positive direction, and
come to terms with our uncertainties.

I encourage you to attend this week's Dharma talk. Following our
formal practice, we will recap the key concepts in Buddhist thought
(impermanence, selflessness, and unsatisfactoriness) and see how we
can take this understanding and positively transform our everyday
lives, not tomorrow, but today.

With palms together,

Jim, Shi Yong Xiang