- There is suffering in life
- Suffering is caused by attachment
While contemplating the wheel of life mandala, I saw that greed, hatred, and ignorance are what keeps us trapped in the cycle of samsara. I was angry and hateful toward someone whom I once held dear that has wronged me. Trust me, it was not a pretty feeling. Then I tried to calm myself by reminding myself that only Im feeling the fires of my own hatred, he is not feeling the fury of my wrath..only I am. Thus, I am making myself suffer. My attachments to him caused my own "downfall". I quickly realized what it finally meant to let go! I found out that the less and less attachments we have, the less we will suffer. I try not to think of the pain that was caused to me, and by no means, it is not easy. But I think that this is something that takes a lot of strength to do.
Do attachments also come in the form of the three poisons as well? Little by little, compassion for this person was born. He is like me, who suffers in samsara. Sometimes, we are ignorant of the reality. We chase our desires and not know why we suffer. I learned the reality of the four noble truths...the hard way.
Fellow dharma practitioners, where do I go from here?
