28 Feb
2013
Posted in: Homework
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Life is Challenging. For Everyone.

The March homework for the Dedicated Practitioner Program just arrived, beginning with: “This month we will start preparing for the final retreat of the program.”

Gosh. That went fast.

It continues, “The topics of this retreat represent in some ways the culmination of our time together, and also of the path of practice itself: Nibbana, the Four Noble Truths, Anatta, the Stages of Awakening and the Brahama Vihara of Equanimity.”

So, wow, that final retreat (April 25- May 2) is going to be a doozie!

Meanwhile…the homework: As a part of our reflections on the First Noble Truth, we are asked to consider the meaning of dukkha (most often translated as “suffering.”) The assignment: “What word or words do you use to translate dukkha, and why? Make a list of all the synonyms you can think of for dukkha.”

OK. Here goes:
Suffering
Stress
Not Getting What I Want
Unhappiness
Feeling Miserable
Things Not Going the Way I Want Them To
Distress
Disappointment
Tension
Difficulty
Dis-ease

A literal translation of The First Noble Truth is, “Bhikkhus (monks), there is this Noble Truth of dukkha.” The homework asks: how do you prefer to translate this truth?”

I like Sylvia Boorstein’s translation: Life is challenging. For everyone. I think I’ll go with that.

(image: The Housewives Tarot)

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