You have departed — left home — and crossed into the first of your trials.
Life is suffering.
The Buddha
First “Noble Truth”
We also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5
I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness; I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more.
Anne Frank
The very first “Noble Truth” is Buddhism is “dukkha,” which is translated, “Life is suffering.”
That is often misunderstood as being gloomy or dark, when scholars all tend to agree that it’s not meant to depress, but rather to release. Release the need to end suffering — you can’t. Release the need to be happy all the time — impossible.
Instead, my understanding (as an interested observer of these traditions) is that if we can accept as fact that difficulty in this human life is inevitable, then we can detach from the need to make it right. If we acknowledge that, then we can have some chance of helping in the current moment: of having compassion for and helping ease the suffering that is put before us (whether our own or others’).
If we use all of our energy decrying the unfairness, we’re unlikely to actually make change.
“Trials & Temptation” Activities
Journal Prompt
Your two journal prompts for this week…
- How do you respond to difficult things? How do you approach suffering — whether yours or someone else’s? Are you overwhelmed by sadness or moved to action? I encourage you to bring to mind two specific “sufferings.” One that is personal to you — a place where you struggle; and one that may not directly impact your daily life, but that you view as a larger issue (perhaps for a marginalized group or for a cause you hold dear). As you reflect on these two events try to recognize how your reactions to each are different. What can each situation “teach” the other?
- If suffering is simply a Truth, then can it be bad? Isn’t it all in how we use it? One of my teachers uses the metaphor of a knife: a knife by itself has no inherent morality. If it is cutting a tomato for our salad, it is “good.” If it is cutting a person, it is “bad.” But what if it is cutting a person who’s trying to harm someone we love? In that case, isn’t it good? Similarly, if your suffering can teach you something or make you a better neighbor to someone in your community, was it good or bad? Reflect on this and on any times when you feel your own difficulties helped you make a change that was a “net positive.”
If you have completed the journal prompts above, then simply let yourself write for ten minutes without any rules or restrictions. Consider the prompts, your previous journal entries this week, and just let your pen go!
Yoga Flow
Many thanks to The Mercedes Club, Hell’s Kitchen, NY, for letting me record these yoga flows in their gorgeous yoga studio.
Meditation
If you prefer to meditate on your own, unguided: Instead of ignoring or repressing the difficulties of life, send them love, using the phrase: "May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be free from want."
This program is presented by James Donegan / JDFitNYC and has no relationship with Equinox, Mercedes Club or any other facility where Mr. Donegan is employed. Any one participating in a physical activity, especially those who may be pregant or nursing, should consult a physician before beginning a physical exercise program.
Nothing that appears in this blog or on this website is intended to treat or diagnose any disorder, physical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before beginning any exercise program.