In the Buddha's first discourse, Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dharma, he asked:
"What now is the Noble Truth of Suffering?
Birth is suffering; decay is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering; not to get what one desires is suffering; in short the five groups of existence are suffering." — Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, Samyutta Nikaya
The Buddha goes on to say:
“What is the suffering upon suffering?
It is that which is painful when arising,
painful when remaining, and pleasant when changing.”
This suffering is blatantly truthful about suffering by being born, dying, the stress due to "sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair", and "not to get what one desires", which implies frustration of "what one desires".
For birth causes pain to one's mother, and giving birth to a child puts her at risk of dying.
Thus birth is suffering.
Decay is suffering because of gradual failure of health, strength, soundness, prosperity, or any kind of
In old age, I may die. Since the grasping of ego leads me to cling to life out of fear of death and imminent non-existence, death is suffering. When death is near, out of the prospect that he loses his life as he is dying, the disciple encounters sorrow.
Sorrow is suffering because of loss of a loved one, which leads to bereavement. Being the opposite of joy, it leads her to sadness and disappointment. When that sadness leads to disappointment, it causes regret. Regret leads to great unhappiness. In this mental state of being sad, she feels grief due to disappointment at not having a loved one, especially the loss of her mother.
At the loss of a loved one, she laments the loss of her parents, her child, or her spouse. When she cries over that loss, she may wail or moan to express her grief. Her loss will lead to the pain of bereavement and lament her loss with wailing and moaning.
Faced with the prospect of losing both his parents, he does not get what he desires, but loses his father and mother to death. At the prospect of their eventual death, he shows grief and despairs losing his life, too.
Hence, the five groups of existence — birth, decay, death, sorrow with lamentation and the pain suffered which causes grief and despair, and the frustration of not getting what I desire.
Thus the First Noble Truth shows that all life is suffering.
Vajra Master Geshe Tashi Tsering says:
"For people like us, who do not have the direct realization of emptiness, although we may understand certain levels of physical and mental experiences as suffering, it is impossible for us to see all the levels of suffering for what they are. Instead we may see some things as desirable when in truth they are suffering."
Suffering consists of misery, unhappiness, and pain. It also is called bitterness and hardship.
Regarding suffering, Ajahn Sucitto adds:
"Just reflect upon your activities and pursuits: notice that they involve a constant effort to change or cope with what is disagreeable, or to stimulate well-being. This striving is universal."
As a result, the feeling of lack or loss or conflict in our lives is suffering.
In a sense the First Noble Truth is also called the First Precious Truth, since life is precious because of the five group of existence that affirm suffering.
Knowing this to be true, in the mind of the disciple arises the Bodhi Mind, of which the determination to achieve Buddhahood and the aspiration to rescue all sentient beings as bodhisattva are the spirit of Enlightenment, the aspiration to achieve it, and the Great Mind set on Enlightenment.
Pure Land Master Tâm writes:
"...When faced with difficult circumstances, pay attention to the mind, and do not cling to appearances and forms, The evil, turbid Saha World has always been full of suffering and tears. Without perseverance and forbearance, it is very difficult to succeed in cultivation."
"Difficult circumstances" refers to the effects of karma, both internal and external, both in this life and perhaps in the past lives.
"Appearances and forms" refers to the appearances of obstacles, both great and small, such as distractions of worldliness — fame, headaches, weather — that prevents the disciple's cultivation.
It also includes the appearance of distractive influences such as natural disasters, thieves, and false friends who try to entice the disciple from cultivating the single-mindedness of samadhi.
"Forms" refers to the forms of suffering, be it bitterness, hardship, misery, pain and unhappiness.
It also refers to the forms of distraction which are the vain grasping of ego, attracted to sensations due to attachment to what you desire, and clinging to destructive habits of action and thought.
"Evil" refers to mental calculations which the West feel shouldn't prevent cultivation, but often leads the disciple to become distracted from Buddha Recitation.
One form of mental calculation is when the disciple decides to practice Buddha Recitation with the intent to impress his fellow disciples. Of course, it is admirable to recite many times to burn off the effects of evil karma, but doing so out of the intent to impress your fellow Buddhist is like washing a cup and drinking from it repeatedly.
What kind of good come from trying to impress others about a thousand recitations when ten will suffice?
With regard to Tibetan Buddhism, life may be filled with suffering arising due to the actions of the Six Root Destructive Emotions — Ignorance, Desire, Anger, Pride, Doubt, and Beliefs — and the Twenty Subsidiary Destructive Emotions &mdash: Rage, Resentment, Spitefulness, Cruelty, Envy, Deception, Pretension, Lack, Disregard, Concealment, Miserliness, Self-satisfaction, Lack, Laziness, Carelessness, Forgetfulness, Inattention, Lethargy, Excitement, and Distraction.
However, Buddha Recitation as mindful practice will help control the Five Ever-Present Mental States — Sensation, Perception, Intention, Contact, and Attention.
Once these five mental states are controlled through cultivation, it is possible to control the Five Object-determining Mental States — Interest, Appreciation, Mindfulness, Concentration, and Intelligence.
Having controlled these five mental states, it is possible to control the Four Variables — sleep (sloth), regret (remorse, contrition), conception (reasoning, investigation, examination),and discernment (analysis).
Having control of these ten mental states and four variables, the disciple is able to use them wisely. Indeed, they become useful mental tools to help cultivate the Pure Mind which wields the Eleven Virtuous States — Faith, Dignity, Propriety, Non-attachment, Nonaggression, Non-delusion, Diligence, Pliancy, Conscientiousness, Evenness/Equanimity, and_Nonviolence.
In using the Eleven mental states to aid in the management of the remaining forty mental states, the disciple would engage in rituals with his Vajra Master that are designed to extinguish evil karma by promoting good karma.
This is the simple explanation of how Tibetan Buddhism works, Yet it is foreign to how Pure Land Buddhist would do things, i.e. Buddha Recitation and meditation.
By cultivating the mind through recitation and meditation, the disciple cultivates the Pure Mind that is essentially the Self Nature True Mind known as Buddha Nature.
Four Noble Truths: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Noble_Truths
Bodhi Mind: p. 330, Buddhism of Wisdom and Faith, Thich Thien Tâm; Sutra Translation Committee of the United States and Canada; reprinted by The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation.
Fifty-one Mental States: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Fifty-one_mental_states
Six Root Destructive Emotions: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Six_root_destructive_emotions
Twenty subsidiary destructive states: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Twenty_subsidiary_destructive_emotions
Five Ever-present Mental States: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Five_ever-present_mental_states
Five Object-determining Mental States: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Five_object-determining_mental_states
Eleven virtuous states: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Eleven_virtuous_states
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