98 : Universal Goodness
One can end suffering once and for all by keeping one's
mind as clear as possible. A clear and bright mind has the ability
not only to see suffering clearly, but also to see how to remove it
at its root cause. A clear and bright mind has untold power. One
is to frequently remind oneself that all the problems in life can be
summarized into just four categories as follows.
(1) The Problems Caused by Our Body: From birth until
death, our body suffers over and over again from hunger, thirst,
the heat, the cold, the need to defecate, the need to urinate,
and all kinds of illnesses. These are the problems that everyone
encounters regardless of his economic status, position, social
class, race or creed. The problems caused by our body is called
Sariradukkha.
(2) The Problems Caused by Being Part of a Social Group:
Communal living situations may include a family, a group, an
organization, etc. When a person does not attend to the problems
caused by his body, he is inadvertently forming bad habits. Such
bad habits can cause conflicts in the community. A young couple
in love may appear well suited to each other. But if one person
or both are dirty, unorderly, unpunctual, impolite and muddled, it
does not forbode well for their married life.