The Four Noble Truths in Buddhism say:
- There is suffering.
- It is caused by not knowing our True Nature and our desires that overshadow our True Nature.
- Suffering can be ended through knowing our True Nature.
- There is a path.
In essence, Lord Buddha is saying that the nature of life in the world is suffering until we realize what is real (our True Nature) and what is not (that which overshadows our True Nature). And when we achieve that realization, we become WHOLE.
Part of the journey is the suffering, feeling the pain and realizing that it is an option for us to stay in that pain, if we choose to do so.
Does that mean that we have to sit in the mountains under a tree and give up life as we know it? No. We live in our world with our families…fulfilling our wishes, hopes and dreams. But when things don't work out, we don't run for the hills. Nor should we become weighed down with our feelings and emotions. We feel the pain. We have the pain, but we don't let the pain have us.
Then there is the element of knowing our True Nature; knowing who we are, why we are here, where we are going and how we get there. This is the path to becoming whole. This journey is about fulfilling our individual nature, while continuously allowing ourselves to be in our Divinity…allowing the love of the Divine Mother, Heavenly Father, Lord Buddha, etc., to embrace us.
Next week: The Taoist Tradition – Yield and Overcome
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