Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Misery – “Dukkha”




Why does Gautam Buddha insist that life is always misery?


Because it is so! Life as you know it is misery. Buddha is not talking about his life, because what do you know about his life? That is not utter misery; that is utter bliss, that is ultimate bliss. But the life that you know is misery. Have you not observed yourself that it is misery? Do you need Buddha to remind you?
Buddha insists again and again that life is misery because life can be tremendous bliss. But unless you understand the first thing you will not understand second. First you have to be very aware that your life is misery, so much so that is it becomes impossible to live in the old way even for singly moment. When you see your house is on fire, how can you go on living in it? You will run. You will escape from the house!
When Buddha insist again and again that life is misery, anguish, pain he is simply reminding you that your house is on fire and your eyes are still blind. It is time – prepare! Your eyes can be cured. A way can be found to come out of this fire. You can still save yourself; all is not yet lost. Hence the insistence. Buddha wants to bring you to the reality of your existence. He is simply trying to shake you up. That`s why he insists again and again that life is misery.
People make tremendous effort, but what can you do? All your efforts are doomed because you don’t do the fundamental thing that can bring a radical change. You don`t create consciousness. That is the only radical transformation of life: from misery o bliss. You do everything else except meditate.
It is not that a meditative person enters heaven – no, Heaven enters into a meditative person. Paradise is not a geographical place, it is psychological experience. Only a meditative person can enjoy everything. He is not a renunciate. Only he knows how taste the beauty of things, How to experience the tremendous presence of existence all around. Because he is, he knows how to love, how to live.
Quoted by The Dhammapada The Way of the Buddha, Osho