CHAPTER EIGHT
Realizing Well-Being
When we have a toothache, we know that not having a toothache is happiness. But later, when we don’t have a toothache, we don’t treasure our non-toothache. Practicing mindfulness helps us learn to appreciate the well-being that is already there. With mindfulness, we treasure our happiness and can make it last longer. I always ask psychotherapists, “Why do you only talk to your clients about suffering? Why not help them touch the seeds of happiness that are also there?” Psychotherapists need to help their patients be in touch with the Third Noble Truth, the cessation of suffering. I encourage them to practice walking meditation and tea meditation with their patients in order to water the seeds of joy in them.
Please ask yourself, “What nourishes joy in me? What nourishes joy in others? Do I nourish joy in myself and others enough?” These are questions about the Third Noble Truth. The cessation of suffering — well-being — is available if you know how to enjoy the precious jewels you already have. You have eyes that can see, lungs that can breathe, legs that can walk, and lips that can smile. When you are suffering, look deeply at your situation and find the conditions for happiness that are already there, already available.
When we begin the first stage of the Third Noble Truth, we already have some happiness, but we are not exactly aware of it. We are free, but we don’t know that we are free. When we are young, we are strong and healthy, but we don’t appreciate it. Even if someone tries to tell us, we cannot realize what we have. Only when we have difficulty walking do we realize how wonderful it was to have two healthy legs. The first turning of the Third Noble Truth is the “Recognition” of the possibility of the absence of suffering and the presence of peace. If we do not have peace and joy at this moment, we can at least remember some peace and joy we experienced in the past or observe the peace and joy of others. We see that well-being is possible.
The second turning is to “Encourage” ourselves to find peace and joy. If you want to garden, you have to bend down and touch the soil. Gardening is a practice, not an idea. To practice the Four Noble Truths, you yourself have to touch deeply the things that bring you peace and joy. When you do, you realize that walking on the Earth is a miracle, washing the dishes is a miracle, and practicing with a community of friends is a miracle. The greatest miracle is to be alive. We can put an end to our suffering just by realizing that our suffering is not worth suffering for! How many people kill themselves because of rage or despair? In that moment, they do not see the vast happiness that is available. Mindfulness puts an end to such a limited perspective. The Buddha faced his own suffering directly and discovered the path of liberation. Don’t run away from things that are unpleasant in order to embrace things that are pleasant. Put your hands in the earth. Face the difficulties and grow new happiness.
One student told me, “When I go to parties, people seem to be enjoying themselves. But when I look beneath the surface, I see so much anxiety and suffering there.” At first, your joy is limited, especially the kind of joy that is just covering up suffering. Embrace your suffering, smile to it, and discover the source of happiness that is right there within it. Buddhas and bodhisattvas suffer, too. The difference between them and us is that they know how to transform their suffering into joy and compassion. Like good organic gardeners, they do not discriminate in favor of the flowers or against the garbage. They know how to transform garbage into flowers. Don’t throw away your suffering. Touch your suffering. Face it directly, and your joy will become deeper. You know that suffering and joy are both impermanent. Learn the art of cultivating joy.
Practice like this, and you come to the third turning of the Third Noble Truth, the “Realization” that suffering and happiness are not two. When you reach this stage, your joy is no longer fragile. It is true joy.
The Fourth Noble Truth is the way out of suffering. First the doctor looks deeply into the nature of our suffering. Then she confirms that the removal of our pain is possible, and she prescribes a way out. Practicing the first turning of the wheel of the Fourth Noble Truth, we “Recognize” that the Eightfold Path — Right View, Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Diligence, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration — can lead us out of suffering, but we do not yet know how to practice it.
In the second turning, we “Encourage” ourselves to practice this path. This is realized by learning, reflecting, and practicing. As we learn, whether by reading, listening, or discussing, we need to be open so we can see ways to put what we learn into practice. If learning is not followed by reflecting and practicing, it is not true learning.
In this stage, we see that the path has everything to do with our real difficulties in life. A practice that does not concern our real suffering is not a path we need. Many people are awakened during a difficult period in their lives, when they see that living irresponsibly has been the cause of their suffering, and that by transforming their lifestyle they can bring an end to their suffering. Transformation is gradual, but once we see clearly the causes of our suffering, we can make the effort to change our behavior and bring our suffering to an end. If we are aware that our heart is not working well and that alcohol, cigarettes, and cholesterol are causes of this, we try to stop ingesting these things. In the second stage of the path, there is an increase in freedom every day. The path becomes real as we put into practice what we have learned.
The Buddha advised us to identify the kinds of nutriments that have been feeding our pain and then simply to stop ingesting them. We do our best, and we ask our brothers and sisters to help us. We can’t expect our difficulties to go away by themselves. We have to do certain things and not do other things. The moment we resolve to stop feeding our suffering, a path appears in front of us, which is the Noble Eightfold Path to well-being. The Buddha is a physician. That is why he invited us to bring our suffering to him. We are also physicians. We must be determined to transform our difficulties, to confirm that well-being is possible. The Buddha identified the Noble Eightfold Path to well-being and urged us to follow it. The third turning of the wheel of the Fourth Noble Truth is the “Realization” that we are practicing this path.
When you are assigned a kung-an (koan) by your meditation instructor, such as, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” or “Why did Bodhidharma come from the West?” you have to ask yourself, What does this have to do with my real suffering — my depression, my fear, or my anger? If it doesn’t have anything to do with these real problems, it may not be a path you need. It may be just an escape. Practice your kung-an in a way that your suffering is transformed.
“This is suffering. This suffering needs to be seen clearly. The roots of this suffering need to be clearly understood. I have seen this suffering. I have seen how it manifests. I have seen its content and its roots.” These are practices, not mere proclamations. “Understanding things as they are” (yatha bhuta jñana) emerges from our life and our practice.
When the monk Gavampati heard his fellow monks say, “Whoever sees suffering sees the making of suffering, the ending of suffering, and the path,” he added, “With my own ears I have heard the Buddha say, ‘Bhikkhus, whoever sees suffering sees the making of suffering, the ending of suffering, and the path that leads to the end of suffering. Whoever sees the making of suffering sees suffering, the end of suffering, and the path. Whoever sees the ending of suffering sees suffering, the making of suffering, and the path. Whoever sees the path that leads to the end of suffering sees suffering, the making of suffering, and the ending of suffering.’ ”1 Interbeing is an important characteristic of all the Buddha’s teachings. When you touch one, you touch all.
It is important to understand the interbeing nature of the Four Noble Truths. When we look deeply into any one of the Four Truths, we see the other three. When we look deeply into the truth of suffering, we see how that suffering came to be. When we look deeply into the truth of suffering, we see how to end that suffering and touch well-being. When we look deeply into the truth of suffering, we see the efficacy of the path. Looking into the First Holy Truth, we see in it the Second, Third, and Fourth Truths. The Four Noble Truths are one.
We need suffering in order to see the path. The origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering are all found in the heart of suffering. If we are afraid to touch our suffering, we will not be able to realize the path of peace, joy, and liberation. Don’t run away. Touch your suffering and embrace it. Make peace with it. The Buddha said, “The moment you know how your suffering came to be, you are already on the path of release from it.”2 If you know what has come to be and how it has come to be, you are already on the way to emancipation.
Let us reframe the Four Noble Truths. “Cessation,” the Third Noble Truth, means the absence of suffering, which is the presence of well-being. Instead of saying “cessation,” we can simply say “well-being.” If we do that, we can call the Fourth Noble Truth “the Noble Eightfold Path That Leads to Well-Being.” Then, instead of just calling the Second Noble Truth “the origin of suffering,” we can say that there is an ignoble eightfold path that leads to suffering, a “path of eight wrong practices” — wrong view, wrong thinking, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong diligence, wrong mindfulness, and wrong concentration. We might like to renumber the Four Noble Truths, as follows, for the benefit of the people of our time:
(1) Well-Being (traditionally number three, “cessation of suffering”);
(2) Noble Eightfold Path That Leads to Well-Being (traditionally number four);
(3) Suffering (traditionally number one); and
(4) Ignoble Eightfold Path That Leads to Suffering (traditionally number two, “arising of suffering”).
If we live according to the Noble Eightfold Path, we cultivate well-being and our life will be filled with joy, ease, and wonder. But if our path is not noble, if there is craving, hatred, ignorance, and fear in the way we live our daily life, if we practice the ignoble eightfold path, suffering will naturally be the outcome. The practice is to face our suffering and transform it in order to bring about well-being. We need to study the Noble Eightfold Path and learn ways to put it into practice in our daily lives.
