292-When do you give up suffering?- Buddhism in daily life

When do you give up suffering?


Buddha said again and again that life is suffering. And what do
we suffer, again and again, from rejection, from failure, from
too little of this and too much of that, pain follows pain,
sorrow and worry affect our moods, again and again we have
sorrowful experiences.


Perhaps the following story can illustrate well for you the words
of the historical Buddha.


A Buddhist monk was in search of "enlightenment", he lived like
an ascetic, fasted incessantly, ate almost nothing, chastised
himself, indulged himself little, prayed incessantly. He suffered
terribly because he had little to eat, found no joy in life; his
life was blameless, he followed the teachings of Buddha, his role
model. However, the awakening would not come to him, the
longed-for "enlightenment" was not granted to him, which troubled
him very much.


In his temple he asked the other monks, asked everyone he met for
advice, but no one could help him, could tell him what to do.


He left his monastery and traveled around, constantly trying to
get a clue on how to get closer to his goal.


So he walked many ways, with his old monk's shoes, from village
to village, from temple to temple, becoming completely obsessed
with the all-important question of "awakening". The people he met
felt compassion for the monk. When he lamented his suffering to
an elderly peasant woman, she told him that there was a Chan
master living in the mountains, but that the path there was
arduous, that he would probably have to walk a long way, and that
the master was not a monk either, whose opinion might not be
suitable for him. In desperation, the monk brother set out
anyway, wanting to know what the lonely teacher could advise him.


Through the forest he climbed the mountain, the path became more
and more difficult to walk, the forest became denser and denser,
the light became darker, the sun was no longer visible, trees
stood in his path.


But now he had already started, he wanted to question the man,
undeterred he climbed up. When he reached the top of the hill, he
saw a small hut in a clearing, animals were to be seen, a small
brook splashed into the valley. On a wooden bench sat an old man
who looked at him as he approached. The monk gave his name and
made his request.


"For many years I have been a monk, I have always kept the
commandments of my order, I have no possessions, I eat only what
is necessary, I have renounced all pleasures and pleasures, I
know no greed, no hatred and no delusion; regularly I quote the
holy scriptures, but "enlightenment" I cannot experience, I
suffer greatly from it," he lamented his fate.


"What can I do to achieve my goal?"


The white man looked at him wearily and replied, "Give up
suffering," then he paid no more attention to the monk, went back
to his work.


The misfortune can make proud, the suffering makes humble


- Carmen Sylva - Queen of Romania and writer - 1843 to 1916


Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de


(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog
English" from the Apple and Android stores)


Please rate us on Apple, Google, or Spotify podcast to help us
promote the show