The Cause of Suffering | There Is No Suffering

The second noble truth, usually translated as ‘the cause of suffering,’ literally means ‘the accumulation of the cause of suffering.’ In particular, it refers to the ten kinds of negative karma: there of the mind, three of the body, and four of speech. 31 The opposites of the ten non-virtuous actions are the ten corresponging virtues. Whether karma is virtuous or non-virtuous, one must still experience its consequence.

Most people think only pain causes suffering; they seldom think that pleasure also causes suffering. In reality, both pain and pleasure cause suffering. Suffering can be overt—suffering that feels like suffering. But suffering can be also be subtler, existing below our conscious awareness; this is the suffering of impermanence. All good things that come into your life will eventually end; all thing that arise will perish. As you reap the benefits of past good karma, you also diminish the supply of good karma. There is no guarantee that the stockpile will last forever. Therefore, you need to continue performing good actions with good intentions to replenish your stock of good karma.

The second noble truth is a fundamental tenet of Buddhism called the ‘principle of conditioned arising from karma.’ Particular actions created karmic forces that lead to particular consequences. This is the principle of conditioned arising; that anything that arises is the result of various conditions coming together, and in particular, the coming together of karma that one has already created.

Practice itself is a kind of accumulation, so it too can be a causal factor in the second noble truth. When done with attachment to self, even helping sentient beings and acting virtuously can accumulate as causes of suffering. For this reason, we should not hold on to the idea of ‘I’ when helping others, nor should we expect reward when engaging in virtuous actions. By continuing to practice, eventually, you no longer see yourself as helping others; rather, you see sentient beings helping themselves. You see things in the light of the coming together of causes and conditions. Ultimately, you will no longer perceive that there are even sentient beings to be helped, either by you or by them. The Diamond Sutra says: “To deliver all sentient beings without delivering any sentient being is truly delivering sentient beings.” This is truly a state of emptiness and non-attachment. At this level, there will be no more accumulation of the causes of suffering.

PREVIOUS: Suffering | There Is No Suffering
NEXT: The Cessation of Suffering | There Is No Suffering