The first noble truth of Buddhism states, "Life is suffering."  This can be off-putting for some people as it seems to suggest that there is no joy to be found in human existence.  

However this couldn't be further from the truth.  The first noble truth doesn't deny the pleasant parts of life (family, nature, good health, etc.).  

Rather, it reminds us that those things occur in the midst of all the unpleasant parts (death, sickness, climate change, etc.).  And we can't have one without the other.

For example, imagine that we wake up one morning and the weatherman tells us that it's cold outside with 3 feet of snow on the ground.  If we react to his pronouncement with fear, and choose to never leave the house, then our lives will be very gray and shallow.  On the other hand, if we choose to ignore the weatherman's prediction; venturing outside in shorts and flip flops, then we'll suffer a great deal as the snow freezes our skin.

But if we accept the inherently cold-nature of snow, then we can prepare for it by wearing a heavy coat, boots, and gloves when we go outside.  If we do this, the weather conditions won't bother us as much, and we may even have some fun!  Our warm clothing will allow us to build snow men, have snow ball fights, and maybe even go sledding with our friends!  But none of this is possible if we don't prepare correctly.

Similarly, when Buddha says, "Life is suffering," he uses the same tone of voice as someone who says, "It's cold outside."  It isn't an edict designed to make us fearful.  Rather, it's meant to be a healthy reminder that suffering exists in the world, and we need to prepare.

Of course, we don't have to listen.  Instead, we can respond to the world by attempting to hide from it; refusing to do anything that might be challenging or unpleasant.  But this results in a life free from vigor and accomplishment.  Similarly, we can try and distract ourselves; filling our mind with a steady stream of sensual pleasure and social media.  But this only works for a short time.  Inevitably, life will catch up with us, and it will bring our pain with it.

Because we can't remove suffering from life anymore than we can remove snow from a snow man.

With this in mind, we prepare for the snow because we enjoy building snow men.  And we prepare for suffering because we enjoy living life.  For a Buddhist, wisdom is our heavy coat.  Morality, is our heavy boots.  And meditation is the pair of gloves that prepares us for life in a cold, snow-covered world.

And as our practice gets stronger, our suffering becomes less.  Until the day comes when we don't see the snow; we just see the snow men.  We don't worry about the cold; we just enjoy our hot chocolate.  And we don't fear life's suffering because we're ready to deal with it.

Visit my YouTube channel to hear Dharma Talks!

Life is Suffering- And That's Okay