By Chris
Years ago, I picked up a book called “Buddhism Plain and Simple” by Steve Hagen. It had a positive testimonial on the cover from Robert Pirsig, who wrote “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.” That was one of the reasons I was so excited about it.
I hadn’t picked up that book in—oh my gosh—10 plus years, and so I decided I would crack it open again. I really just stayed on the first couple of pages because it’s been a while since I looked at the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. It was such a great experience to reread them. I hadn’t thought about them too deeply for a while, so I thought I would share that, even though maybe it’s a little bit of a review of the basics.
It also connects to the question I find myself pondering pretty often: why do I come and sit here? It’s cold. It’s early. People go to church on Sundays at least sitting indoors. So, why do I keep doing this?
The answer was pretty simple, really. The First Noble Truth is often heard as “life is suffering,” but Hagen chose to characterize it as “human existence is characterized by dissatisfaction,” which I think is nicer. It feels more complete, more appropriate.
The Second Truth is that dissatisfaction arises from within.
The Third Truth is that we can take steps that essentially can eliminate or sharply reduce most of that dissatisfaction.
And the Fourth Truth really is the path, the Eightfold Path, and one of those elements of that path is meditation.
As I reflect on why I get out of my warm bed and drive all the way here, I feel the main thing meditation does for me is build a habit. It’s really building and maintaining the habit that I am not my thoughts. And really, my thoughts—connecting back to that First Truth—are probably the source of dissatisfaction for most of us, maybe all of us, because our thoughts are often just a runaway desire machine.
This connects me to a quote I’ve mentioned here in the past from “Be Here Now.” One of the characters in that book said, “When I look around, all I can see are my own desires.”
And so, anyway, that’s my little way of connecting it for myself. It’s all about maintaining a habit of being conscious of my thoughts through awful desires. That’s the root of, for me, the arrival of dissatisfaction.
Hope that’s useful.
Hakone Zendo 