The origin of suffering

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Be attentive and notice that whatever arises passes away; that whatever condition of your mind or body – whether it is a sensation of pleasure or pain, feeling or memory, sight, sound, smell, taste or touch, inside or outside – is just a condition. It’s important to reflect on what ‘ignorance’ really means when .. called … the origin of all suffering. ‘Being ignorant’ means that we identify with these conditions, by regarding them as ‘me’ or ‘mine’, or as something that we don’t want to be ‘me’ or ‘mine’. We’ve got the idea that we’ve got to find some permanent pleasant condition, we have to achieve something, get something we don’t have. But you can notice that desire in your mind is a moving thing, looking for something, so it’s a changing condition that arises and passes away – it’s not-self.

Ajahn Sumedho, Everything that arises passes away

photo sean p bender

 

2 thoughts on “The origin of suffering

  1. Sometimes we are so caught up thinking what we were not able to do in the past and what we should be doing in the future, feeling that whatever is that unfulfilled dream/s should have or will give us complete happiness; giving our present lives so much suffering. Such a realization that all those conditions will pass and change, it’s not the ME NOW.

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