May all be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all embrace happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all abide in peace, free from self grasping
May all attain the union of wisdom and compassion.

What does this mean to me?

I guess the first question to ask is, what is suffering? Hunger, anger, jealousy, greed, envy, fear – these are all forms of suffering. But perhaps the greatest suffering is wandering lost in samsara. Just the feeling of being lost is suffering. It’s that sinking feeling you get when you’re following GPS and suddenly there’s a ROAD CLOSED sign ahead.

Now what? Which way do you go? In samsara, we have GPS. It’s called the Dharma.

We spend much of our lives suffering needlessly. The Dharma isn’t a guarantee against suffering. The promise the Dharma offers is to show us things as they truly are. It’s kind of like knowing how a magic trick works. When you see the flowers come out of an empty hat, you know there’s a hidden compartment. You know it’s an illusion. This is what the Dharma offers, a chance to see clearly. When we see clearly, we can see the path to the cessation of suffering.

How would I explain this to someone else?

What’s the point of praying for all to be free of suffering when we are surrounded by suffering in samsara? We pray that all will be free not only from suffering, but the causes of suffering.

Samsara is a place of actions (or causes) and consequences. I’ve battled my weight all my life. And at this point, Type II Diabetes is writ large in my life. Every time I test my sugar, I know the result has a cause. Ninety eight percent of the time the cause is what I choose to eat or drink.

For years and years, I made terribly unhealthy choices about my diet. What was I actually doing? I was putting in place causes for suffering. I was making a choice between instant gratification and my long term health. Unfortunately, I made the wrong choices most of my life.

And that’s okay. The Dharma is nothing if not free of irrevocable choices. Will you have karma from a poor choice? Absolutely. Do you have a chance to make different choices? Always. Every time we make a choice we are either putting in place causes for suffering or causes for happiness. Mostly, we choose suffering and we wander lost in samsara.

And that’s okay too. The Dharma teaches us how to recognize choices for what they really are. The act of choosing will certainly create a cause of suffering or a cause of happiness. When we practice the Dharma, we learn discernment. We learn to see the causes of suffering for what they are. Today’s choice is tomorrow’s consequence.

How would I use this teaching in my life?

Today, when I think about suffering, it comes down to small choices.

Does it feel good to lie in bed under the covers at five AM? It sure does.

Each day I know that because of my job, I’ll most likely talk to someone who is suffering terribly. It’s the nature of my job. In those moments I have a chance to make things better, or at least a chance to not make it worse. I can do this by seeing clearly.

I know I have a long day ahead of me. If I get out of bed and say my prayers and meditate, I know I will see more clearly. Does it guarantee I’ll say the right thing? No. But I have less of a chance of saying something that makes things worse.

I’m learning each day how to avoid placing causes of suffering in my life. I don’t always do it. I don’t get out of bed every morning, but mostly I do. And that’s okay. We call it ‘practice’ for a reason, right?

I bring this teaching into my daily life by asking myself a simple question throughout the day: How much do I want to suffer? We can either wander blown about by the winds of samsara or we can use the GPS of the Dharma to put our feet on the path to the cessation of suffering.

What are your thoughts?