Tag Archives: buddha

Samsara

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Samsara is the Sanskrit for “cyclic life” or korwa (Tibetan)

The definition in Tibetan is:
sakche nyerlen gyi pungpoy gyun yagne yangdu lenpa ni korwa yin

which is translated:

Samsara is the condition of having to take on, over and over again, a stream of impure parts (heaps or aggregates) which were forced on you.

The Tibetan word pungpoy refers to something like a heap or pile.  The Sanskrit is skandha which is usually translated as aggregates.

The Tibetan word nyerlen implies that you are forced (by karma in this case) to take on the impure parts.

The idea of samsara and being forced to be reborn is central to the Buddha’s teachings and in contrast to some spiritual schools of thought that believe we choose to come into this world in order to learn lessons that we have likewise chosen to learn.  This is an interesting samsaric idea, but closer examination of the mind reveals how little choice we have in our unenlightened state.

Enlightenment marks the end of samsara as evidenced in the Buddha’s words:

Through countless births in the cycle of existence I have run, not finding although seeking the builder of this house; and again and again I have faced the suffering of new birth.

Oh housebuilder! Now you are seen.
You shall not build a house again for me.
All your beams are broken, the ridgepole is shattered.
The mind has become freed from conditioning; the end of craving has been reached.

—Dhammapada XI. 8&9 (153&154)

Mid-Life Crisis

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I was 32 years old when I had my “mid-life crisis”. It was at that time I had achieved, or nearly achieved, everything I wanted in my life.  My foundation seemed complete and everything else was on cruise control.  This plummeted me into an emotional place where I could rally no happiness or contentment.

My August 1, 1997 journal entry:

June/July were very difficult.  I was doing 5+ meetings a week; treading water, not feeling any relief.  I was without words to accurately describe it.  Sometimes it was strong emotional pain without a current cause to explain it.  Then I was feeling dissatisfaction.  I was walking around saying, “I have everything” and not feeling the way I expected.  I expected joy to happen when I had everything.

What I was reacting to, with my depression, was the realization that my outside circumstances do not make me happy.  What is outside me is transient and even if something gives me pleasure it is a pleasure that does not last.  On the path to enlightenment this would be considered the first step.

I would not have sought to end my suffering with a spiritual solution if I had not realized first that the material world could not provide me with satisfaction.  My depression was simply a reaction to the loss of that illusion.  If I had not so strongly thought that getting a stable home and the community I was looking for could bring me happiness I would not have been so pained when I realized it was not true.

It wasn’t until a decade later that I “discovered” that the Buddha taught how to find everlasting peace and joy.  Perhaps, my dark period would not have been so difficult if I had know there really was an alternative.  I was told I had to accept life on life’s terms.  While that is good advice for finding peace in the moment, the Buddha taught how to take control and change life to create a “perfect” world.

This is coming up today for me, because on Sunday, September 7th I will be teaching the first class in the Asian Classics Institute Course 1 – The Principal Teachings of Buddhism.  It is with great joy I share with others how to change their world and create eternal bliss.  I am looking forward to being with people that also want to end suffering.