Turning the Wheel

I finished reading part one of The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching this afternoon. This section was focused on the four noble truths. While reading about the four noble truths this time it become more clear to me than ever before how interdependent they are with each other and with the rest of the teachings of Buddhism.

As I was trail running yesterday I was struck by how Thay described the realization stage of the Second Noble Truth as "when I am hungry, I eat. When I tired, I sleep." As I was running I noticed that my breathing was happening effortlessly. Although I was running quite quickly this time my breathing was not labored as usual, but quite slow and easy. I remembered that my father has given me the advice to eat when I was hungry and sleep when I was tired for as long as I can remember. However, I never thought about it as being part of the dharma until that moment. It is clear to me that being aware of what your body needs--not just physical nourishment, but all kinds of nourishment--is no different than deep listening and right diligence. It's the stone falling effortlessly to the bottom of the pond, a river flowing to the ocean, or rain falling from the sky. This is also no different from the struggles I have been having with my graduate students. I have not been listening deeply enough to them in order to know what it is that they need. I have been trying so hard to do my job the best that I can that I missed the crucial step of deep listening and right diligence.

Thay's choice of using nirvana as the third dharma seal along with impermanence and interdependence (nonself) was also very interesting for me. I can see how touching nirvana becomes possible by living with acceptance and understanding of impermanence and nonself. I can also see how suffering arises from living without acceptance and understanding of impermanence and nonself. Thay's choice to use nirvana instead of suffering allows us to focus on the practice of touching our suffering without falling into the trap of seeing all things as suffering.

As the Rain Falls,

Sam