Ending Suffering with Archie J Bahm (Buddhist Philosophy)
This is an idea I think is worth sharing. And it’s an idea that once it’s understood, will be accepted as true. It’s something that is so simple that it can actually be difficult to understand. The simplicity of it is what makes it easy to miss.
The idea comes from early Buddhist texts, and it speaks about suffering. Suffering specifically in the sense of dissatisfaction.
The thought goes like this.
If you want something that you will NEVER obtain, then you are suffering. And when I say never, I truly mean never. If you want something that you will never get, you’re suffering. That’s the suffering I’m talking about.
What it is you want that you will never get can vary tremendously. But let’s not overcomplicate things. If you want something that you will never get (apply your own want), then you are suffering.
Now, if you want to eliminate your suffering, then it’s simple. Don’t want the things you will never obtain.
But it’s natural for people to want more. At least a little more than what they currently have. Wanting more for ourselves is often the very thing that pushes us forward into obtaining things we never thought were possible.
But the principle I mentioned earlier still holds true.
If we obtain something, then it wasn’t something that was NEVER obtainable.
So the problem is that our wants and desires do not come with perfect “gauges” of what we will obtain. We don’t always know where that line is. And that’s where suffering arises.
When the gauge of our wants overshoots into what will NEVER be obtained, that overshoot is the precise amount of suffering we experience.
Again, the principle still holds.
If you want more than what you will EVER obtain, then you’ll suffer that overshoot.
If you’re still following the logic, stay with me, because this is where it gets very interesting. This is where Buddha had an enlightening experience surrounding suffering. He set out to solve suffering, if it was even possible to.
And I think we can all benefit from the fruit of that labor.
Whether you know it or not, it will not save you from death. It will not end your grief. But something important does change.
So when we want to end our suffering, when we want to be enlightened, when we want to be at peace, we must pay close attention to that “gauge” and how much we are overshooting what will never be obtained.
Because when you set out to end your suffering, that too is a gauge.
There is a certain part of your suffering that you will NEVER be able to end. And so long as you constantly overshoot, you will remain in suffering.
So this forces you to stop overshooting.
Meaning, to accept what suffering is actually present. To accept the suffering that you cannot resolve and will not EVER be able to.
And it’s precisely at that point that suffering ends.
That’s it.
That’s the entirety of the thought process. It runs deep, and there may be better ways to explain it, but that’s the concept.
And if you apply it to your particular suffering, no matter who you are or what it is, the principle applies.
Which is what made Buddha who he was and Buddhism what it is today.
Overarching principles of suffering. Not God, not the afterlife, not religious doctrine. Just a discussion on the truths of suffering, how we can understand it, and ways that we might be able to end it.
If these thoughts or ideas were new to you and helped at all, or even just gave you something to think about, please share your initial thoughts. I’d like to hear them.
Have a good one.