Eight Steps to Freedom | Page 2

tension. Buddha never taught that life itself was inherently suffering, but that to be alive with a mundane consciousness was to be in a state of tension with existence. Of course suffering is an experience all living things share, because the nature of life is finite and when we experience the limits of our finiteness, we experience suffering.
Sickness, old age, and death visit every being born in this world. They are the borders of our own mortality. They do not inherently carry with them a measured level of suffering as each person, according to their own karma, experiences a different level of discomfort when confronted with their own mortality.
For instance, two people may break their legs skiing, with an identical level of physical pain and discomfort involved. One person may accept this accident gracefully, being mature enough to realize that when he or she choose to take up skiing, potential injury was part of the package. That person might spend the rest of the trip in the lodge, enjoying some wine and good company and making the most of it. A less mature individual could well be sent into a frenzy of anger at the "injustice" of their accident. This type of person will suffer a psychological hell of their own making and their experience of this hell is much worse than the pain of the injury and discomfort of a cast.
The essential difference in experience of two people sharing an identical misfortune is due to the excessive desire of one, versus the acceptance of the other. The worst part of this scenario for the angry skier is that they are likely to suffer more in the future because of their inability to deal with their situation. They bring this on themselves by arousing the contempt and anger of their companions because of their childish behavior. This in turn makes them bitter, full of self hatred, and more likely to repeat their mistakes in the future.
The source of their problems lie not in their experience, but in the view they hold of the world that made that experience so hellish. It is the natural consequence of being out of touch with reality. The basic idea or view of such a person stripped down to its essentials is that the world should conform to their expectations. This is a world view driven by desire, rather than acceptance.
Many westerners view acceptance as a kind of moral cowardice. In the words of Dylan Thomas, "Do not go gentle into that good night, but rage; rage against the dying of the light." The truth is, acceptance is not a passive state as opposed to desire. This is one of the misunderstandings inherent in modern world views. Acceptance is a conscious awareness of the reality of ones situation and does not imply a lack of energy. Acceptance is grounds for action because it deals realistically with the actual. Attachment to desire is a type of frenetic non action in that it ignores actuality in favor of a denatured possibility.
Understanding and acceptance of reality is the beginning of enlightened activity. In order to pursue a goal, we must have a grasp of what the conditions are that will shape the direction of our efforts. If we do not recognize the terrain, we will be unable to follow the map. Knowing this, Buddha systematically delineated the forces that shape life and consciousness. His interest was not in presenting a philosophical system, but in laying out a road map of the terrain of the human condition in order that we might find our own way. Hid teaching was an expression of his own experience, rather than a philosophical agenda handed down to him from tradition. The power of this teaching arises directly from its unconditioned freedom. This freedom can only be obtained, when one has the courage to pioneer into the self without the aid of a wagon full of philosophical given and theological speculations.
The Buddha's teaching was, and still remains, an intensely personal confrontation with the problem of human suffering and its alleviation. This confrontation with suffering was even more remarkable when we consider that Shakyamuni's profound distress with the human condition was not generated by his own personal suffering so much as his recognition of the suffering of those around him. The prince in his palace was moved by the sickness, old age, and death he saw around him while he himself remained free from these afflictions.
It was not just the knowledge of his own potential suffering that moved him, but the reality of suffering as a given in life that shook him to his foundation. For the truly spiritual , the reality of suffering abides in ones spirit as an enduring flame of compassion. This is a fire that burns away all distinction of self