A Fresh Way to Look at the Four Noble Truths
a doctor sitting in an exam room with a patient
“We are more than our anger; we are more than our suffering.”[1]
I was happily working my way through my online video course at Everyday Buddhist, when Jon Turner Sensei pointed out that the Buddha saw the human condition as a “seeing problem” causing a person to “not feel right“. As a practicing physician, the parallel with medical diagnosis and treatment was intriguing to me, and it gave me a new way to look at the Four Noble Truths. Then I realized our service book at Vista Buddhist Temple [2], puts it similarly:
Duhkha – Difficulty
Dissatisfaction comes with not living in accord with the truth of impermanence and interdependence.
Samudaya – Arising
The delusion of self-importance, expressed through greed and anger, is the cause of
duhkha.
Nirodha – Cessation
The transformation of greed, anger, and delusion is the cure for duhkha.
Marga – Path
Sakyamuni Buddha taught the Eightfold Path as medicine for putting an end to duhkha.
When I encounter a patient who is suffering due to unhealthy eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle, part my job is to help them identify barriers that are preventing them from having a healthier body, and resources, including friends and family, to help them stay on a healthy path. Life is stressful. They may have developed a habit of eating when they’re stressed. Junk food is addictive. They may have fallen into the trap of widely available, unhealthy food, and they may not have time nor resources to buy and prepare more nutritious food like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
Part of my job is to help them “live in accord with the truth of… interdependence". No one lives in a bubble. Our habits are intertwined with the habits and influences of those around us. If I can enlist a parent to go on walks around the neighborhood or kick a soccer ball around at the park, and keep junk food out of the house, it can make a difference.
Another habit change that I have seen has made a huge difference is if my patient joins a sport and gets wrapped up in the lovely social network of a team, with positive adult role models all around, it can be transformative.
On the other hand, social isolation can be devastating, and a pediatrician is trained to be on the lookout for it. A teen may “not feel right” because they are having conflict with their parent, friend, or significant other, and it has made them feel angry, which in turn led them to say, regrettable things to the loved one, which in turn made the problem worse.
Thankfully, I am able to offer them a “warm handoff” with a behavioral health counselor, who can help them see the situation in a different light. Through cognitive behavioral therapy for example a counselor can help a patient develop skills to deal with anger and reduce its destructiveness to relationships.
For example [3]:
Think before you speak.
Once you are calm, express your concerns.
Get some exercise.
Take a time out.
Identify possible solutions.
Stick with “I” statements.
Don’t hold a grudge.
Use humor to release tension.
The suggestions share commonality with parts of the Eightfold Path [4]:
Right Views – knowing and understanding the Four Noble Truths.
Right Thought – letting go of want and desire and acting with kindness to avoid hurting anything.
Right Speech – telling the truth, speaking kindly and wisely.
Right Action – not stealing or cheating.
Right Livelihood – earning a living that does not cause bloodshed or harm to others.
Right Effort – encouraging and developing positive thought in order to keep to the Path.
Right Mindfulness – being aware of thoughts and actions that affect the world now and in the future.
Right Concentration – this is the peaceful state of mind that arises through correct Practice at the Eightfold Path.
Profound wisdom is all around. We only need to be reminded; by friends, teachers, doctors, therapists, ministerial assistants, reverends, and the writings of all the Buddhas that have graced the Earth with their birth.
I take refuge in the Buddha.
I take refuge in Dharma.
I take refuge in the Sangha.
In Gratitude.
[1] Thich Nhat Hanh, “Taming the Tiger Within”, page 9, published by Penguin Group, 2004.
[2] Shin Buddhist Service Book. Buddhist Education Center. Orange County Buddhist Church, 2013.
[3] from acognitiveconduction.com
[4] From “Religions of the World”, page 109, Emirates Printing Press, 1997.