Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org

clearly uncontrollable – it is merely our defilements of mind
that confuse us into expecting things to be otherwise.
Once one is able to appreciate the inherent characteristic of
suffering (i.e. inability to satisfy) in everything that arises,
one will begin to let go of one’s craving for all things,
preferring simply to watch and experience rather than react
and control. Eventually, this becomes a habit and one
makes a shift in one’s understanding with the sudden
realization that everything whatsoever that arises has no
ability to satisfy oneself. This is called dukkha-sacca – the
truth of suffering.
A person who sees the truth of suffering for themselves is
one who is free from suffering. They feel no displeasure at
painful feelings; they are eternally at peace with themselves
in all situations, because they have no misplaced
expectations about how reality “should” be. They accept
reality as it is, knowing that it could not possibly have been
otherwise than it is. They seek out no satisfaction in health
and well-being, so they find no reason to obsess about poor
health and sickness. An enlightened being sees the body as
something to care for appropriately as a matter of course,
but is not at all concerned with its eventual fate.
If we obsess over anything, it will surely become a cause for
great suffering for us. The body is something that most
people are guilty of obsessing over to a great degree. Some
people will actually go to the extent of having plastic surgery
to make their body more satisfying to their minds. Others
become addicted to pain-killers, seeking out stronger and
stronger medication until finally they may commit suicide
because they are unable to take the pain.
As Buddhist meditators who have come to appreciate the
horror of addiction and obsession, we should take the
Buddha’s advice seriously and use medicine only as is
absolutely necessary to avoid debilitating sickness and
disease that would otherwise hinder our ability to carry out
objective observation of reality. As my teacher often
reminds us, “you will sacrifice your wealth to save your body;
you will sacrifice your body to save your life; you should
therefore be willing to sacrifice your wealth, your body, and
even your life to save your mind.”
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