SUFFERING IN LIFE – VEN. THAY THANH

Suffering in Life:

Teaching in Virginia Beach Venerable Chuc Thanh shared this observation with the sangha: “Suffering exists at all stages of our lives–young, middle age, senior, student, teacher, married, single, etc. We have to be creative and innovative in our practice throughout our lives to address suffering.”

Tricycle.org provides this definition of suffering (dukkha): “The Buddha taught there are three kinds of dukkha. The first kind is physical and mental pain from the inevitable stresses of life like old age, sickness, and death. The second is the distress we feel as a result of impermanence and change, such as the pain of failing to get what we want and of losing what we hold dear. The third kind of dukkha is a kind of existential suffering, the angst of being human, of living a conditioned existence and being subject to rebirth.”   

As our lives progress, so do our challenges, our “suffering”.  Venerable Chuc Thanh reminds us that through our own effort we can develop and evolve our practice of Buddhism throughout our lives to address the specific challenges we face.   

(Venerable Thich Chuc Thanh is the Dharma Master at Dong Hung Temple. These quotations were collected from 2015 through 2018 as he taught in Virginia Beach, VA and Southern Shores, NC.  The quotation titles and commentary are by temple member Mark Palamara.)