Buddha was wrong.
Buddha taught that the cause of suffering is desire. Attachment. That to live means to suffer.
And, he was right for his time, but not for ours.
Remember, Buddha was born in 623 BCE in Nepal. This is before the invention of smartphones, modern medicine, a rising middle class, and a political system that encourages freedom of thought, trade, and speech.
For the vast majority of human history, life WAS suffering. Even the richest members of the highest caste in society didn’t have it as good as the average citizen today.
Buddha was right in his time, but in our time, everything has changed.
Have you ever been happy you achieved something?
I certainly have. Most countries around the world encourage achievement. Parents want their kids to succeed in life.
When working at a job, you feel happy after you’ve pulled off a major win. Gotten a deal. Or, on a soccer team, scored a goal. You feel like you’re living on your purpose.
No matter what your life looks like, chances are, you can take yourself back to a time when you achieved something and felt good about it.
Buddha argued that we need to control our desires and that by practicing non-attachment, we can free ourselves from worries and worries.
When your desires are overwhelming, you become a slave to them. You lust after them and lose sight of what matters most.
That is certainly true to a degree, but it’s not the root cause of suffering in our age…
The cause of suffering is the over-active mind
Thoughts are the cause of your suffering.
We now live in an established society where you can go to work in an efficient car, order an inexpensive meal at a fast food joint, and have a package delivered to your house without lifting a finger.
Yet, despite all these material surroundings, you may feel empty, unhappy, or like you’re not good enough. It’s not these surroundings themselves that are “evil,” but rather your over-active mind.
This habit of “excessive thinking” is outlined well by Echartolle’s book, the Power of Now.
As you drive down the highway, you think to yourself about your problems, about how you’re not good enough, about the things that are wrong with your life.
These thoughts then change your emotions. They make you feel sad, worthless, unhappy, and ultimately like you’re not the person that you want to be.
An over-active mind will always be veering off into another train of thought. It will start by playing back a movie scene in your head from that film a few weeks prior. Then, you’ll think about what a bully did to you in fifth grade, or how a co-worker said something you don’t like.
Your mind is continually cued by the thoughts you have to have other thoughts, sending you down a rabbit hole that you can’t control.
You don’t feel like you’re living authentically.
You convince yourself into feeling worthless, angry, sad, or downright depressed.
Where is happiness found?
Ultimately, true happiness is found in the present moment.
In this very moment, there is nothing that is threatening your body. There isn’t a lion charging at you, or some barbarian trying to swing an axe into your forehead.
There’s no reason to feel angry or sad based on what’s happening in your current environment.
Rather, it’s your thoughts and conclusions about your current situation that cause you to feel negatively.
As you sit in your chair, you might be reminded by the fact that no one else is around you. You then start to think about how alone you are in your life. You say to yourself, “There must be something wrong with me.”
Before you know it, you’re curled up on your couch, feeling sorry for yourself.
The only way to eliminate this negatively and claim that salvation of happiness is to cut off all thoughts in the present moment and to simply be.
You’ve been in a “being state” before. Whenever you’re doing something so exciting, compelling, or consuming that you literally can’t think about anything else, you’re in a being state.
The first time you drove a car. Your first kiss. If you ever went skydiving.
These are all times when you feel alive. Your active mind shuts off and you’re simply in the present moment.
You feel ALIVE.
Happiness is found in the present moment and it’s only achieved by cutting off your thoughts about the past, future, and even present. You just have to experience, appreciate, and enjoy where you are.
What about your daily problems?
We still live on the planet earth, so you will still have daily problems that you must solve.
You have to figure out how to pay the bills, what workout to use at the gym, where you should travel next.
These are problems that you must use your brain to solve.
Problems don’t go away, but problems aren’t the true cause of suffering. They are an opportunity for you to grow stronger, more confident, and feel that excitement when you do push past your comfort zone.
Remember, we’ve all felt that thrill of achievement. Problems serve a purpose. However, overthinking and over analyzing can turn those opportunities into a cloud that plagues your entire life.
You’ll let those problems take over, and that’s when your thinking patterns become harmful.
How to Eliminate Suffering
I have a great video out there on how to master and understand what you’re feeling. I’ll link you to it down below.
In this video, you’ll learn how to shift those negative emotions that you feel on a day-to-day basis.
If you’re feeling lost, confused, and like you don’t understand why you’re feeling what you’re feeling, then I think you’ll like this video.
Your emotions are the quality of your life. You could be well-off and have a great lifestyle, but if you’re unhappy and stressed, then your life sucks!!!
Take control now (while you still can). Claim freedom in this area of your life!
Hope you enjoyed this article and that you take action on some of these steps.