Contemplation on Suffering

Ruchun: Sat down at 4:55 in the morning: took deep breaths, originally intended to chant the Buddha's name as usual, but today the Heart Sutra automatically began reciting itself in my mind. For nearly an hour and a half, there were basically no distracting thoughts. The Heart Sutra seemed to play on repeat automatically, one recitation after another. Could this be Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva bestowing blessings upon me?

During evening meditation, mosquitoes disturbed me, giving rise to a vexed mind and feelings of suffering. I asked myself: Why did this vexed mind and feelings of suffering arise? My mind analyzed: The mosquitoes will bite my flesh and suck my blood, causing itching and pain. Such sensations are very uncomfortable and painful. When they bite me, I strongly desire to slap them away. If I succeed in hitting them, I create unwholesome karma and plant the seeds of suffering; if I miss, I fear being bitten again, which is also suffering. A single tiny mosquito brings so much distress. The suffering in daily life is even greater—clothing, food, shelter, and transportation are all sources of suffering. For example, eating: First, preparing the meal itself is hard work—icy water in winter, scorching heat in summer, all kinds of suffering. Washing, chopping, stir-frying, various hassles. Then, to chew and digest the food, various bodily processes must be activated, working hard for hours and consuming considerable energy. Encountering delicious food leads to overeating, causing the suffering of fullness; eating unpalatable food brings the suffering of hunger. In short, suffering is everywhere.

So where does suffering come from, and where does it go? Suffering is a sensation, arising from the five aggregates (body). The five aggregates can experience suffering and also accumulate suffering. Yet we mistake this five-aggregate body for "me." Thus, combining it all: Suffering = Sensation = Five Aggregates = Me. Conversely, without "me," there is no sensation, no five aggregates, and no suffering. Suffering comes from the self and ends with the absence of self.

Commentary: Only by understanding suffering can one sever its origins, aspire for its cessation, and cultivate the path. Without understanding suffering, one has no desire to cultivate the path, and the aspiration for the path remains weak. When compassion increases, one first thinks of the suffering of sentient beings, and only then of one's own suffering. When the mind is narrow, one only thinks that killing the mosquito creates unwholesome karma and suffering for oneself, without considering the suffering the mosquito experiences upon death. Cultivating the Bodhisattva path, one should think of sentient beings first and oneself later; one cannot always revolve thoughts around oneself. Why do most people, when encountering situations, first think of their own benefit, or can only think of their own gains and losses without any consideration for the other party? Because most people have narrow minds and low energy, possessing little merit, with no spare mental capacity or ability to care for others, resulting in being completely filled with thoughts of themselves—heart, lungs, eyes, and brain all consumed by self-concern. Such people, due to their lack of merit, find it very difficult to perceive the truth on the Mahayana path; they lack the qualifications of a Bodhisattva. How can they become true Bodhisattvas?