Contemplating the eight types of dukkha, part 2

• Contemplating the eight types of dukkha in detail continued
  • Encountering the undesirable
  • Separation from the desired
  • Not getting what you want
  • The dukkha of having the five aggregates
• The distinction between renunciation and the determination to be free
• Contemplating the six kinds of sufferings
  • Uncertainty
  • Disatisfaction

Gomchen Lamrim 44: The eight types of dukkha, part 2 (download)

Contemplation points

1. Consider the five aspects of the dukkha of encountering the undesirable in depth:
   • suffering arises from the simple encounter with unpleasant people
   • fear of being punished by others
   • fear that they will speak maliciously
   • fear of dying horribly
   • fear at the thought of falling into a lower rebirth after death
2. Consider the five aspects of the dukkha of separation from the desired in depth:
   • sorrow fills your mind
   • you cry/lament
   • you harm yourself
   • you miss what you lost and you’re full of anguish
   • you grieve a future that will no longer happen
3. Consider the five aspects of the dukkha of not getting what you want in depth:
   • sorrow fills your mind
   • you cry/lament
   • you harm yourself
   • you miss what you lost and you’re full of anguish
   • you grieve a future that will no longer happen
4. Consider the five aspects of the dukkha of the five aggregates (taken under the influence of afflictions and karma) in depth:
   • they lead to future suffering (just having these aggregates is a setup for suffering in future lives)
   • they are the basis for all our present suffering (in this life)
   • they are vessels for the dukkha of pain
   • they are vessels for the dukkha of change
   • just by having these aggregates, we are susceptible to the other two dukkhas (dukkha will come to us in one way or another)
5. Recognizing that these are the natural results of cyclic existence, consider times in your life where you were complaining or frustrated that things weren’t going your way. Think, “This is samsara. Of course its going to be like this.” How might thinking in this way transform your mind and your experience of the events in your life?
6. Meditating on these points can be difficult, but it is not meant to make us depressed or discouraged. Rather, it is to recognize the situation that we are in and aspire to be free of it. Having meditated on these points and understanding the disadvantages of rebirth in cyclic existence, resolve to practice the path and develop the qualities you need to free yourself.