A Touch of Philosophy, or the Four Noble Truths - Applied



For any real philosopher out there who may stumble across this post, I apologise in advance. I'm not a philosopher so please take the title with a pinch of salt. I'm writing based merely on my personal studies and experiential learning.

To help me speak about how I recognise the Four Noble Truths in my life, I'd like to refer to the previous post: Mindfulness at Work.

You see, what happened was that rather than writing it, the post wrote itself somehow - I mean, it came to me ready-made, and I wrote what I saw in my mind's eye - and I published it straight away, the way I normally do, but I knew that there was more to this one than most, and it wasn't until the following day, as I walked from Parque Uruguay to Laguna de T茅rminos (and back later on) that I realised it reflected (speaking of Reflections) a live, up-to-date application of the 4 Noble Truths.

To explain:

The post starts by saying I was carrying much suffering within myself, and the First Noble Truth, as most of us know (but rarely go beyond) is that there is suffering in all of us. If you're unsure about this Noble Truth, it might be an idea to bring to mind the 5 Remembrances:

The post then moves on to speak about losing myself in consumption and the Second Noble Truth is about the origins of our suffering coming from attachment (or clinging) to desire, or craving. And ignorance, because the tree of desire (which has many branches) is rooted in ignorance.

Ignorance is the inability to see the truth about things, that is, to see things the way they really are. There are many truths about the world which we are ignorant of because of the limitations of our understanding.

By overcoming craving and ignorance (through study, careful thought and meditation), we see the Truth; we see things the way they really are, and we attain true happiness (from Zen Guide).

Next, I speak about taking a good hard look at what was happening and the many wrong roads I had taken to appease the suffering. I say wrong not in a judgemental way, but in the sense that they'd all continued to lead towards more suffering and despair. But the Third Noble Truth is the realisation that there's a cure. The post says:

At that moment I got it. I understood and the cosmos reconstituted itself. That's all I needed to do. Just sit and calm myself down.

As simple as it sounds, most of us fear the reality of suffering so much (first two Noble Truths) that we never get to the third! But there *is* a path that leads to freedom from psychological pain. I am living proof of this because I've experienced it myself - it's happening now 馃挆馃挀馃挅馃挒

The post then speaks about my decision to sit in meditation, and bring the practice of Mindfulness into my life. The Fourth Noble Truth


My post says that as soon as I put the Fourth Noble Truth into practice, things shifted immediately. Space was created and I could breathe again, fully and calmly. I feel much calmer, happier and more joyful these days.

But does it mean that I live in a delusional world of rainbows and unicorns? 

No, it doesn't. 

It means I don't feel so easily overcome by stress and anger, nor overwhelmed by anxiety and fear. Not that I never get angry any more. I still find myself shouting at the car cutting in front of me when I'm driving, for example. But I can laugh at myself immediately afterwards, whereas before something like this would've continued to darken my mood day after day. The gap between an angry reaction and letting go of it straight away (because I've become aware of it) is closing.

What about you? Do you have any experience of meditation and in what way has your life shifted since you started practising?



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