DEVELOPING OF THE MIND TO BE AWARE OF DUKKHA THROUGH PATICCASAMUPPANNA DHAMMA

Abstract

The true essence of Buddhist teachings can be summarized as teaching people to understand suffering and the path that leads to its cessation. The Buddha abandoned worldly pleasures which he perceived as unable to provide true being able to truly escape from what is called “Dukkha”. He became a monk and sought the truth to end suffering through his own effort. Dukkha, or suffering in its simple sense, encompasses physical and mental discomfort and the difficulty of enduring one’s current situation. While physical suffering can be alleviated through medical science, the nature of suffering that exists within us arises in the mind. This form of suffering cannot be perceived by the physical eye, but it possesses the power to make the sufferer live in torment due to ignorance of reality, a condition called “Avijjā”. The Buddha discovered independently that suffering has causative factors, and he established this principle as Paṭiccasamuppāda. This article examined Paticcasamuppannadhamma, the principle of Dependent Origination, to understand its significance. It can be studied and practiced developing mindfulness of the suffering that arises in our minds at every moment, to recognize that suffering, and to cultivate a practice that transcends it, ultimately preventing suffering from arising.