Path to Reducing Suffering: Suffering Series Part Four of Four cover art

Path to Reducing Suffering: Suffering Series Part Four of Four

Path to Reducing Suffering: Suffering Series Part Four of Four

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 The Journey We Are OnIn week one, we realized we suffer and categorized the basic suffering we experience, in episode two we realized that most if not all suffering comes from wanting, and in episode three we discussed that we don't have to suffer if we take the right actions. Today we are going to finish the series by discussing the eight areas to focus on to make progress on eliminating our suffering. "What nourishes joy in me? What nourishes joy in others? Do I nourish joy in myself and others enough? - Thich Nhat Hanh As we get into the episode, my compassionate recommendation is that you keep an open mind, not comparing what you hear with your existing thoughts and ideas. Listen to your intuition to see if this message resonates with you. Let's start with a short three-minute meditation to clear our mind. Breathe deeply in through your nose, and exhale completely out through your mouth. After five breaths, return your breathing to normal and close your eyes if it is safe, and you feel comfortable doing so, continue focusing on your breath for a couple of minutes. The Path to Eliminate SufferingI like to think of my mind as an endless table full of beakers, when I wake up the beakers are mostly empty, unless I have carried over something from the previous day. As the day goes by, I fill the beakers with different liquids. Some of the beakers have joy, or happiness, some have stress, or frustrations. It isn't enough to just notice what each container holds, I need to analyze the qualities of the contents to understand them, in understanding I can do something about the contents, hopefully what I am doing is figuring out how to live life to keep my happy containers full and my containers for stress, anger, frustration, and suffering empty. I can't just move the containers I don't like away; I must look at them, understand them, and embrace them with compassion for myself for the experience of the beaker. This will enable me to empty some or all the contents of the container. I also must look at the joyful beakers to understand what it is that truly brings me joy and why, so I can do more of those things. An example from my life: This week I had to take my daughter to school for the first time this year. She is at a different school, so I found the trip to be stressful. I saw that I filled a beaker with stress, but why, what comprised the contents of the beaker? I clearly saw the suffering in the stress, which correlates to episode one. I had to look at my stress, what were the contents of the beaker? In this example, unfamiliarity with the route and traffic patterns, which lane to be in. I was worried about her being late, and missing part of class or disrupting a class already in session. The reality was she would be on time or late, and it was too late to influence the outcome. I took some deep breaths, changed the station to more relaxing music, and did my best to drive mindfully and arrive safely. In understanding the truth of the reality, I was able to pour out some of the stress, I would like to say I was able to dump it all out, but I wasn't successful, however, I did reduce the stress keeping it from boiling over into anger or other destructive emotions. By taking a deep breath and listening to calming music I started filling another beaker with calm and peace. When I feel calm and at peace that nourishes joy in me. This situation could have been filled with suffering for me and my daughter, and potentially for others around me had I not driven considerately with mindfulness. My actions send out ripples, whether I want them to or not. This can be joy or suffering to those around me. Because I was able to see my suffering as it arose, I was able to do something, I reduced it and brought about wellbeing at the same time. I have alluded to parts of the path to reduce suffering so far, and now it is time to explicitly discuss the eight areas to focus on in ending our suffering. I have been forthcoming that...
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