My Favourite Life Philosophy?

 

The other day I received an e-mail from Professor Rebus. Who? What? Who is Professor Rebus I hear you ask? Well, he's not a 'professor'. No, he is the creator of the Pitcherwits puzzle, a mixture of formal cryptic crossword puzzle clues and image clues. In his e-mail he asks for those subscribers to write, in this case, an article about 'your life' philosophy. Here is what I wrote.

Well, mine is based on three key teachings of that man who lived about 2,500 years ago in Northern India: the Buddha. In his Three Marks of Existence teaching, he stated that our everyday lives are conditioned by impermanence (Pali: annica), suffering (Pali; dukkha) and non-self (Pali: annata). What does this actually mean in my life? If I separate myself from the actual teachings I begin to acknowledge a wider picture of me and everything around me. For instance, I decide to drive to my nearest supermarket for some groceries. I'm about halfway there and my car breaks down. I get out of the car, lift up the hood, and I find the engine's run out of oil. Damn! The effect on my emotions turn from frustration to anger. Why, oh why, oh why? Had I checked the oil level on that day, or the day before, or the previous week, then this wouldn't have happened. The car engine, like everything else in life, is subject to change.

This example of impermanence transforms into anguish, torment, in other words, suffering. It's the whole pain of something happening right out of the blue; the car breaking down, the mental trauma, in that moment when life is going along just well, driving my beautiful silver Chrysler 300 to the supermarket, listening to the sweet soul sounds on the radio - and then boom! If the Buddha had been walking past my car that day he might have stopped, looked at the car engine, and then me. I would have said, "Why, Buddha, why did this have to happen? I'm frustrated!" To which the enlightened being would have replied, "If you didn't own the car, you wouldn't have broken down in the first place - simple!" In other words our very belongings, our ownership of stuff, possessions, from the Chrysler to my Samsung mobile, from my Hugo Boss three-piece suit to my Rolex Submariner watch, they are all potential examples of change and suffering.

But, and lastly, what about the person who experiences all this pain: according to Gautama, the non-self (annata)? Over the years I have dug deep into the aspects of dukkha and annica and have a full understanding about the interaction of the two. Where there is change, there is suffering and vice-versa. But non-self? The Buddha basically stated, and based on a lifetime of meditation and teaching, the so-called self doesn’t exist. Yes, it’s a difficult one to get one’s head around. But I have to say that I eventually began to get it. If there is no ‘me’ then where will dukkha and annica attach to? Absolutely! Forget this thing we call ‘me’ and ‘I’ and life begins to get a bit easier, manageable, and uncomplicated. Because all of life’s suffering originates in you, whoever you think you are.

I rest my case . . .