“You scratched my car!” We human beings experience agony of the ego when we are afraid that something will happen to us or something that is ours will be lost or we will lose somebody whom we love.
Therefore, we suffer what can be called the triple suffering of the body, the mind, and the ego. The reason we are reflecting on this triple suffering is to try to understand what causes the suffering. Don’t we know it? Of course, it is our own mind. Don’t we also know how to overcome the triple suffering? Yes, it is with the intellect. However, knowing about the triple suffering is not enough. We have to realize the truth to overcome fear. Unless we become conscious of this triple suffering, and we realize that there is a way to overcome it, we will continue to fear death and to fear pain of the body, misery of the mind and agony of the ego.
Long ago, in ancient India, a Hindu Prince, Siddhartha Gautam went on a quest to realize the truth. He was royalty and enjoyed all regal pleasures. Even though he could enjoy all conceivable luxuries, he was pained to see how people suffered and he wanted to find a way out of this triple suffering. He went on a quest and realized that this whole world suffers because we believe that we are the body, we are the mind and we are the ego. Because we live in ignorance, we suffer beyond imagination. What was the
TAKEAWAYS
OVERCOMING FEAR OF THE TRIPLE SUFFERING
realization of the Buddha that gave him this name that means the ‘Awakened One’? What was the truth that he realized that can help us overcome fear and suffering?
The only way to overcome the triple suffering of the ego, mind, and body and to overcome fear is through realization of the truth.