TLDR

Today, we focus on the First Noble Truth: suffering exists. How is suffering defined? And why does suffering happen? Becausee we don’t understand non-self.

Excerpts

A. First Noble Truth - suffering exists

“Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of suffering:
birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering;
union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering;
in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.” Bhikkhu Bodhi translation, SN 56.11 Discourse on the Turning of the Wheel of Dhamma

Explanation

Definition of Suffering

The definition of suffering includes important life milestones (birth, ageing, illness, death), but also three important mental aspects

  • “union with what is displeasing is suffering;” - i.e. being forced to be with something or someone unpleasant or dislikeable
  • “separation from what is pleasing is suffering;” - i.e. being forced apart from something or someone pleasant or beloved
  • “not to get what one wants is suffering;” - this should be self-evident! It’s also worth pointing out that the Chinese wording is exactly the same: see the Chinese wording here. So it is clear that this definition of suffering isn’t referring to “the birth and death of a moment”, as described by some contemporary teachers.

It is also clear from this excerpt that the “five aggregates” are suffering. The five aggregates are the standard formula describing sentient beings, even with non-self. This is elaborated in the next excerpt:

Excerpt

B. Non-self

And why do you call it form? It’s deformed; that’s why it’s called ‘form’. Deformed by what? Deformed by cold, heat, hunger, and thirst, and deformed by the touch of flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, and reptiles. It’s deformed; that’s why it’s called ‘form’.

And why do you call it feeling? It feels; that’s why it’s called ‘feeling’. And what does it feel? It feels pleasure, pain, and neutral. It feels; that’s why it’s called ‘feeling’.

And why do you call it perception? It perceives; that’s why it’s called ‘perception’. And what does it perceive? It perceives blue, yellow, red, and white. It perceives; that’s why it’s called ‘perception’.

And why do you call them choices (sankhara)? Choices produce conditioned phenomena; that’s why they’re called ‘choices’. And what are the conditioned phenomena that they produce? Form is a conditioned phenomenon; choices are what make it into form. Feeling is a conditioned phenomenon; choices are what make it into feeling. Perception is a conditioned phenomenon; choices are what make it into perception. Choices are conditioned phenomena; choices are what make them into choices. Consciousness is a conditioned phenomenon; choices are what make it into consciousness. Choices produce conditioned phenomena; that’s why they’re called ‘choices’.

And why do you call it consciousness? It cognizes; that’s why it’s called ‘consciousness’. And what does it cognize? It cognizes sour, bitter, pungent, sweet, hot, mild, salty, and bland. It cognizes; that’s why it’s called ‘consciousness’.

SN 22.79

Explanation

What suffers?

A core idea in Buddhism is the idea of non-self i.e. there is no soul, no atman, no permanent essence, no self.

If there is no self, then what exactly is suffering? Who is the “you” who suffers?

This is where the idea of the Five Aggregates comes in. These are the five “groups of things” that we view as our Self:

  • Form: our physical body, including its parts.
  • (Sense) Feeling: the feedback from our six senses, which we consider pleasurable, displeasurable or neutral. Each Feeling is different from other sense feelings: for example, we describe smells as smelly, fragrant, neutral, whereas we describe food tastes as yummy, yucky, neutral.
  • Perception: this group describes seeing the aspects of the object e.g. blue, pink, yellow, white. The Chinese parallel to this text describes perceiving something as large, small, or without boundaries.
  • Volitional formations (which Bhikkhu Sujato has translated as “choices”): this group includes will, choice, decisions. As you can see, this is a major one: it affects all the other aggregates, and is a major source of suffering.
  • Consciousness - the turning on of each sense organ’s mental counterpart, which allows it to cognize sense feelings & perceptions, from each of the six senses (sight, sound, smells, taste, touch, mind).

A very common misunderstanding of non-self is: “oh, if there is non-self, then there should be no suffering, since nothing is there to suffer!” We suffer because non-self is real, whereas we hold onto the delusion of a self.

This is explained further in the next excerpt:

C. Why we suffer because of non-self

“Bhikkhus, form is nonself. For if, bhikkhus, form were self, this form would not lead to affliction, and it would be possible to have it of form: ‘Let my form be thus; let my form not be thus.’ But because form is nonself, form leads to affliction, and it is not possible to have it of form: ‘Let my form be thus; let my form not be thus.’

“Feeling is nonself…. … Perception is nonself…. Volitional formations are nonself…. Consciousness is nonself. For if, bhikkhus, consciousness were self, this consciousness would not lead to affliction, and it would be possible to have it of consciousness: ‘Let my consciousness be thus; let my consciousness not be thus.’ But because consciousness is nonself, consciousness leads to affliction, and it is not possible to have it of consciousness: ‘Let my consciousness be thus; let my consciousness not be thus.’

SN 22.59 - Non-Self https://suttacentral.net/sn22.59/en/bodhi

It was then that the Bhagavān addressed the monks,“Form is not the self. If form were the self, it wouldn’t be that illness and pain arise from form, and there wouldn’t be the desire about form:‘Let it be so; let it not be so.’It’s because form is without self that there’s illness and pain that arise from it, and these desires are possible:‘Let it be so; let it not be so.’Feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness are likewise.

Explanation

Why non-self causes suffering

As the Buddha described, we suffer, because non-self is real. But we mistakenly think each of the five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, volition, consciousnesses) is a self, or contains a self.

And the Buddha’s logic test is fantastic: if each of the five aggregates is truly a self, then you should be able to control your form, feeling, perception, volition and consciousnesses by simply wishing it so.. Imagine being able to change your body into Brad Pitt’s or Angelina Jolie’s, just by wishing “may I be Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie”! And if you’re able to fully control each of these five components of a self, then you wouldn’t suffer. This is the same in the Chinese parallel, SA33

The fact is, none of the five aggregates are in our full control. Nothing in your body nor your mind is really in your full control. And that is why we suffer, due to non-self: what we consider to be our self or soul is actually not in our control, and not really our self.

Explanation

  • Suffering is defined as birth, illness, ageing, death, joined with what you don’t want, separated from what you want, and not getting what you want.
  • Suffering is due to the non-self nature of reality. What we take to be a “self” is actually the Five Aggregates, which are defined as
    • form
    • sense-feeling
    • perception
    • volition (or choices)
    • consciousnesses
  • If each of the Five Aggregates is truly your self, then you won’t suffer, because you can fully control it by wishing! But we don’t fully control any of the Aggregates. That is why we suffer.

Exercises

Examination

  1. If you look back at your life and recall when you had suffered, looking at the definition (Excerpt A), which category of suffering did those episodes belong to? (Note: if it is a recent or ongoing episode, you may wish to skip this for now, and instead recall a previous episode which you’ve recovered from.)
  2. Which of the Five Aggregates do you most take yourself to be? Why?
  3. Which of the Five Aggregates do you least take yourself to be? Why?

Orbit Prompts for Review