Wisdom of Buddhism - Issue 1

Wisdom of Buddhism

Issue 1

Welcome to the Tuesday evening Buddhist Studies Series. The purpose of this lecture series is to introduce the teachings and principles of Buddhism. What is the meaning of studying Buddhism? Why is it meaningful?

A fundamental purpose of Buddhism is to investigate the truth about life. First, I would like to talk about “life”. We experience different types of feelings and emotions in life. There is a saying, “As one sees, one thinks and starts to worry.” When we look at the world around us, it triggers all sorts of thoughts, from there it stems happiness, suffering and worries. What causes these disconcerting thoughts? How do they come about? Is there more happiness than suffering in this world, or is there more suffering than happiness? No matter what your answer is, we all desire happiness, but as we search for happiness we also experience suffering. Our never-ending search for happiness only leaves us feeling unsatisfied and discontent. Some people even believe that the pain caused by the search for happiness is a kind of pleasure!

I am not saying that there is no happiness in life. But why do we feel happy about certain things but embittered by others? How do our happy and unhappy feelings arise, and what is the nature of these feelings? If we keep searching for happiness without knowing what it really means, then we are just being driven by our feelings as they come and go.

Those who are more perceptive will realize that our emotions are often affected by the surroundings. It is not difficult to manipulate a person’s emotions. Your friend will feel flattered when you say, “Hey, you are looking great today!”. But if you continue to say, “I was just kidding. You look hideous!” Then he will be upset instantly. See how easily our feelings are manipulated!

Even though we have the ability to manipulate others, very often we are unaware that we are the ones being manipulated, and those who manipulate our feelings are doing so because someone else is manipulating them.

We are living in a world of “collective karma”. “Collective karma” means people engage in similar acts that have consequences. All these karmic acts are intertwined and will generate interpersonal struggles relating to happiness, sadness, affliction, success, failure, honor and disgrace. In fact, all karma stems from our desire for happiness and aversion to suffering. How does “distinction” arise in our minds (distinguishing between good or bad, beautiful or ugly, long or short etc.)?

If we think carefully, we will realize that our suffering and happiness stem from a common root that we all have, which is desire. Isn’t it true that we experience happiness and suffering because we always want to satisfy our desire? Isn’t the satisfaction of desire part of our human nature and also a phenomenon in this world? A more fundamental question is where our desire comes from. Is it possible to separate our thought from desire? These questions are meant to help us to gain a true understanding of the meaning of life and the universe, that is, to know why we are here in this world.

Our life is an endless repetition of routines. We eat, work, sleep, and answer calls of nature every day. It seems pretty meaningless if this is what we live for. Some might ask, “What about having children and bringing up the next generation?” But why do we want to have children? If we don’t know the meaning of our own existence, how do we teach our kids about life? Should we assume that having children is entirely the work of Providence or for the sake of passing down the lineage? If we ourselves do not know what life is for, should we ask our children to figure out the meaning of life by themselves?

Why do I say we have no idea of what we are doing? As I have mentioned earlier, every thought we have is rooted in our own desire. Do you know why you have desire? Why do people constantly pursue what they desire and remain so attached to it? We often hear that we should work hard all the time to make contributions to society. It sounds like a meaningful cause, but if we are honest with ourselves, we will realize that we are attached to our own desire in each step we take. Have you ever asked yourself why people always want more after they have got what they want?

If we can be content after getting what we want, it would be quite easy to feel satisfied living in a modern and affluent society. Ironically, it seems much harder to find true contentment in today’s world than in the past, when life was simpler, and society was less well off. Why? It is because our desire is like a black hole, and satisfaction means much more than meeting our basic needs. Are we really going after our desires? Even when we are enjoying a rich material life, we are still not satisfied. Our troubles do not go away. In a way, we are controlled by our own desire. We are constantly driven by desire in everything we do. That’s why we have to consider this fundamental question: where does our desire come from?

At the beginning, I have said that Buddhism is a religion that studies the truth of life and the universe. What is life about? Our action is controlled by our thought, and our thought is controlled by our desire. If we do not know the origin of our desire, we won’t be able to understand ourselves, or why we are so attached to our desire in everything we do. If this is the case, we will be living like the walking dead. Buddhist learning is founded upon this basic question about “life”.

A central premise in Buddhism is to “understand the mind and see the nature of all things”. To understand the mind means understanding life. To see the nature of all things means understanding the universe. Let me add that by “nature” I mean the true nature or “essence” of the world. In the following lectures, you will find out why this “essence” refers to the universe.