2 .Where do we learn to solve our sorrows?
Although frustration and sorrow are basic to
human life, there is no school, college or
university in the country which teaches us how
to face these problems. All of them teach us
World History, Geology, Applied Mechanic’s,
Algebra, Economics, etc. Undoubtedly, these
knowledges are important for leading a worldly
life. These institutions prepare us for a greater
role in life and to shoulder bigger
responsibilities. But without the corresponding
knowledge on how to solve our pervasive.
problems, these institutions also prepare us for
psychosomatic complaints reserved for the
'successful'.
A number of medical doctors in general practice
are asked what physical conditions, if any are
most commonly associated with success. On
collating the doctors' replies, the following
complaints are common among the successful
patients:
Peptic ulcers, high blood pressure, diarrhea,
excessive sweating, alcoholism, migraine
head-aches, skipped heartbeats, heart
complaints, hypertension, muscle spasms,
insomnia, chronic fatigue, overeating and
obesity, loss of appetite, allergies, nervous
dermatitis, dizziness, tinnitus (ringing in the
ears).
The Buddha is closer to us than all our
politicians, economists, geologists, and the
other experts put together. Being so intimately
concerned about human suffering, he
renounced everything to seek a cure to these
universal problems. He was concerned about
problems facing you and me our frustrations,
our sufferings, and our feelings of hopelessness.
3 .What did the Buddha find?In his Enlightenment, the Buddha foundthat
man suffers because of his ignorance.Being ignorant of the nature of things, he gets
infatuated with them: - his life, his ideas, his
family, his property, his pride. Only after
developing wisdom to see and experience the
truth of all things will he be able to put an end
to suffering.The Buddha realized that all phenomena rise
and fallaway immediately. From the largest to
the smallest, all are in the state of flux. On a
clear night, we see millions of twinkling stars.
What we do not see are the clouds of gas
coalescing into stars and galaxies, the myriad
stars,and planets in various stages of evolving
and decaying, the planets circuiting in their
solar systems. The smallest of things, the atom,
is in constant flux with the electrons orbiting
around its nucleus.Our physical body replaces its old tissues with
new cells. Our thoughts, impressions,
perceptions, experiences, wants and desires are
changing day by day and moment to moment.
Toy guns and dolls which once made us happy
are no longer satisfactory now. Ourhappiness is
short-lived. If we emerge top in an examination,
the rejoicing will last at the most for a few days.
After which the happiness evaporates like the
earlymist in the morning sun.Because of wrong views, man clings and desires
for pleasurable things and avoids un-pleasant
things. Things which please the senses fragrant
smells, beautiful sights, pleasant sensa-tions,
delicious tastes, soothing sounds -he pursues
for more. Unpleasant things are avoided. He
dislikes people who hurt his ego and turns away
from bores. He pursues someone who has
captivated him, and he tries to possess
everything pleasing.