Suffering is. No matter what you do or where you go in this world – there will be suffering.
Ajahn Brahm said: “Suffering is expecting from the world what it can never give you”
The universal truths (Marks of Existance)
- Impermanent (anicca) – everything changes and is unfair
- Unsatisfactory (dukkha) – nothing can bring lasting satisfaction
- Not-self (anattā) – nothing belongs to a solid, unchanging “self”
This world kamma loka (realm of the senses) cannot give one lasting contentment and peace.
The wrong view is the expectation that this world can provide permanent contentment and peace.
The teaching of Ajahn Chah about the Jackal is important
The Buddha and his disciples once saw a jackal run out of the forest they were staying in. It stood still for a while, then it ran into the underbrush, and then out again. Then it ran into a tree hollow, then out again. One minute it stood, the next it ran, then it lay down, then it jumped up. The jackal had the mange. When it stood, the mange would eat into its skin, so it would run. Running, it was still uncomfortable, so it would stop. Standing, it was still uncomfortable, so it would lie down. Then it would jump up again, running to the underbrush, the tree hollow, never staying still.
The Buddha said, “Monks, did you see that jackal this afternoon? Standing, it suffered. Lying down, it suffered. It blamed standing for its discomfort. It blamed sitting. It blamed running and lying down. It blamed the tree, the underbrush, and the cave. In fact, the problem was with none of those things. The problem was with his mange.” We are just the same as the jackal. Our discontent is due to wrong view. Because we don’t exercise sense restraint, we blame our suffering on externals. Whether we live in Thailand, America or England, we aren’t satisfied. Why not? Because we still have wrong view. Just that! So wherever we go, we aren’t content. But just as that jackal would be content wherever it went as soon as its mange was cured, so would we be content wherever we went once we cured ourselves of wrong view.
So understand suffering, it’s cause and the elimination. The start is right view.