One common critique of the Theravada Buddhist tradition is that it represents far too negative an outlook on life.
“Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.”
– Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta, Samyutta Nikaya 56.11
The term Dukkha/Suffering can be softened, and translated as “unsatisfactory” or “stressful.” One can also note the Second Noble Truth, that suffering arises because of Trsna/Craving/Thirst/Desire. The way we interact with and interpret the world – with craving for self – at a minimum, adds to our suffering.
Nevertheless, on the whole, many texts in the tradition describe the world itself, not simply the way we interact with it, in starkly negative terms.
“‘Bhikkhus, what do you think? Is material form permanent or impermanent? – ‘Impermanent, venerable sir.’ – ‘Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness?’ – ‘Suffering, venerable sir.’…‘Bhikkhus, what do you think? Is feeling… Is perception… Are formations… Is consciousness… permanent or impermanent? – ‘Impermanent, venerable sir.’ – ‘Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness?’ – ‘Suffering, venerable sir.’”
– Alagaddupama Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya 22
“Whatever exists therein of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness, he sees those states as impermanent, as suffering, as a disease, as a tumour, as a barb, as a calamity, as an affliction...”
– Mahamalukyasutta, Majjhima Nikaya 64
“Bhikkhus, all is burning. And what is the all that is burning?
The eye is burning, forms are burning, eye-consciousness is burning, eye-contact is burning, also whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant that arises with eye-contact for its indispensable condition, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion. I say it is burning with birth, aging and death, with sorrows, with lamentations, with pains, with griefs, with despairs.
The ear is burning, sounds are burning…the nose is burning, odors are burning…the tongue is burning, flavors are burning…the body is burning, tangibles are burning…The mind is burning, ideas are burning, mind-consciousness is burning, mind-contact is burning, also whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neither painful-nor-pleasant that arises with mind-contact for its indispensable condition, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion. I say it is burning with birth, aging and death, with sorrows, with lamentations, with pains, with griefs, with despairs.
Bhikkhus, when a noble follower who has heard the truth sees thus, he finds estrangement in the eye, finds estrangement in forms, finds estrangement in eye-consciousness, finds estrangement in eye-contact, and whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant that arises with eye-contact for its indispensable condition, in that too he find estrangement. He finds estrangement in the ear…in sounds…in the nose…in odors…in the tongue…in flavors…in the body…in tangibles… He finds estrangement in the mind, finds estrangement in ideas, finds estrangement in mind-consciousness, find estrangement in mind-contact, and whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant that arises with mind-contact for its indispensable condition, in that too he finds estrangement.”
– Adittapariyaya Sutta (“The Fire Sermon”), Samyutta Nikaya 35.28
I take the point.
Just to be born is a trauma. We leave the safety of the womb to enter a world where we instantly crave. If we don’t eat, we die. We are dependent upon others to keep us safe in a world full of danger. As we develop, we are put on a treadmill. We need to do this, we need to be this, otherwise ____. We won’t have a good life. We won’t be successful. We won’t be happy. Your teeth are messed up, you need braces. Otherwise you will be ugly and nobody will want you. You’re not very good at sports, better find something else to succeed in so you can be something, so you can have value. Your eyes are set too far apart. Your forehead is too big. You’re too manly. You’re too small. You have acne scars. Your body is, like, out of proportion or something. You walk funny. It’s weird. Well not much we can do about that. We’ll dress you for it as best we can. It’s ok, everybody has something wrong with them. There are many things wrong with you. We worry about pleasing our parents, we worry about our standing among our peers, we worry about if we are good enough, we worry if we can find somebody who accepts us and won’t leave us. We go through life striving for and attaining things, accomplishments, approval in the eyes of others. But even when we get the things we want, the things let us down – they never seem to fully satisfy. We are never fully happy and at ease. We go on worrying about losing what we have, or attaining the next thing we want. Turns out it’s all just a big fucking treadmill. A perfectly healthy 22 year old friend has a brain aneurysm and dies. A parent has a heart attack. Everything is cast against the backdrop of our mortality. Why are we here? What gives life meaning? We age and we die. Everything we have achieved, everything we are, will be taken away in the end. It’s already starting. You’re already past your prime. All is burning.
And yet.
It’s not dukkha all the way down. Playing a game of chess with my father is not dukkha. Hanging out with my nieces and nephews is not dukkha. Friendship is not dukkha. Meaningful work is not dukkha. Having a good breakfast is not dukkha. Playing softball in the summer is not dukkha. Making music is not dukkha. Falling in love is not dukkha. Listening to the birds chirp is not dukkha.
I agree with the tradition that when we come to life with craving for self (I tend to interpret the Second Noble Truth along the lines of the Vedantin concept of “selfish attachment” or “selfish craving” (Bhagavad Gita 2:48, 2:55, 2:71, 3:9, 5:28, etc.)), we will experience dukkha – suffering, dis-ease, unsatisfactoriness. When we interpret life in terms of “what can I get to make me happy?” we will suffer. Nothing will be enough. The answer to that is to live selflessly. Not fake selflessly. Actually selflessly.
There is also wisdom in the Theravada tradition’s insistence that we must seek the Absolute. All the traditions insist that seeking a direct and transformational experience of the Absolute, under whatever name it is called, is our ultimate good. The Buddhists call it Nibbana. Emphasizing the transitory nature of life and its unsatisfactory elements are ways of encouraging us in that direction. A Christian might say “consider your mortality and seek the Lord.”
But the world of samsara, in itself, seems like a mixed bag.
There are horrific, unimaginable things that cause suffering in this world. And we add to our own suffering by how we interact with and interpret the world. But there is also so much beauty here that it sometimes literally brings me to tears. I still don’t know how to reconcile it all.