Suffering and it's Cessation

So some recollections of the Four Noble Truths connected with kamma have been coming up for me in terms of the Four Noble Truths really is the teaching of kamma.

But because the Buddha doesn't necessarily use the word kamma when he's teaching the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, he does use the word kamma with a long A, K long A M A. That's the sensuality.

But in terms of kamma or action, then you wouldn't think that the Four Noble Truths is necessarily a teaching on kamma or karma, a law of cause and effect.

But it is very much that.

And it's also Paticcasamuppada.

It's also dependent origination.

And any of these teachings, you get the whole of the Dhamma with it.

Kamma, the teaching on kamma, the teaching on action is so integral to who and what we are.

And it's really the substrate of existence, the basis of kamma, rebirth and transmigration, rebirth in samsara.

And the Four Noble Truths describes this very vivid detail, how this works and how there is dukkha, which kind of gets translated in various ways.

Suffering is the most common translation.

But being on retreat and reflecting on the word dukkha, I'm actually coming to this just pain.

Pain is a good translation for dukkha.

And then there's these very various types of dukkha.

So there's what the Buddha called dukkha dukkha, which is just out and out pain, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair.

Then there's viparinama dukkha, which is the dukkha inherent in change and things arising and passing away.

And then there's sukaduka, which is the dukkha that is inherent in happiness.

It's the other side of happiness.

And so that these things go together.

So these in conditioned existence, and this is connected with death contemplation as well, that our lives change.

We were born.

We were little babies at one point.

All of us were little babies at one point.

And then we were in a certain experience of life at that time, in those moments.

And then we grew up into children and into whatever stage of life all of us are at right now through this whole process.