Samsara
Is an ocean of suffering,
Unendurable,
Unbearably intense.Vidyadhara Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
So what is Samsara? Most of us have heard of Nirvana. And assume Samsara is the exact opposite. Nirvana is more the juxtaposition of Samsara that can give a feeling of balance. Nirvana and Samsara are here, in this present moment. Both of them right here, right now. If we have suffered from an addiction we would have experienced a taste of what Samsara could be.
I’m not sure it is helpful to define either concept. Though of course Samsara is some of what I have alluded to before. Our lack of recognizing that we have had a precious birth, our denial of our own death, the karma of taking a human body, all this is Samsara. It is the cycle of life, and it’s consequence of decay and death.
All beings have suffered for eons, and will continue to do so until Nirvana is attained. Nirvana is more than a state of bliss or peace. It is indefinable. But I would say that we are moving towards it if we can cultivate, equanimity, simplicity, stillness and contentment in our lives.
The Four Reminders
- The first reminder: My precious birth
- The second reminder: Death and impermanence
- The third reminder: Karma
- Fourth reminder: The defects of samsara
I’m aware of having spoken much about the finality of life, or the part of the cycle of life which is death. But there are many of us who will get sick for a prolonged time before we die. Many of us who will age, and loose much of our mobility and even our faculties before we die. Samsara is right in this moment of not accepting, old age and sickness. It is possible to be happy in sickness, happy in old age, and happy at the point of death.
How can this be? The Buddhist path offers a path of liberation, a path of ethics, meditation and wisdom. This threefold path can lead us to the point of seeing that there is an end of suffering, and if we take this path it will lead us away from suffering. It will point us in the direction of Nirvana.
There is much hope in life, if we take the opportunity and invite the full cycle of life into our hearts and minds. I find myself reflecting on the following questions often.
- How do we hold death lightly?
- How do I hold lightly that I may be diagnosed with a terminal illness tomorrow?
- How do I hold lightly that I may live to an old age with little mobility?
- How do I hold lightly that I may live to be a 100, be well, but have no friends or family alive around me?
- How do I live?
I must live in the now. Moment by moment without the distraction of the past or the future.