BuddhismSutra-obooko-mind0029

modern buddhism
liberation from a particular suffering; all living beings, including
animals, experience temporary liberation from particular
sufferings. Animals experience temporary liberation from
human suffering, and humans experience temporary liberation
from animal suffering. At the moment we may be free from
physical suffering and mental pain, but this is only temporary.
Later in this life and in our countless future lives we shall
have to experience unbearable physical suffering and mental
pain, again and again without end. In the cycle of impure life,
samsara, no one has permanent liberation; everyone has to
experience continually the sufferings of sickness, ageing, death
and uncontrolled rebirth, in life after life without end.
Within this cycle of impure life there are various realms or
impure worlds into which we can be reborn: the three lower
realms – the animal, hungry ghost and hell realms – and the
three higher realms – the god, demi-god and human realms. Of
all impure worlds, hell is the worst; it is the world that appears
to the very worst kind of mind. The world of an animal is less
impure, and the world that appears to human beings is less
impure than the world that appears to animals. However,
there is suffering within every realm. When we take rebirth as
a human being we have to experience human suffering, when
we take rebirth as an animal we have to experience animal
suffering, and when we take rebirth as a hell being we have
to experience the suffering of a hell being. Through contemplating
this we shall realize that just experiencing a temporary
liberation from particular sufferings is not good enough;
we definitely need to attain permanent liberation from the
sufferings of this life and all our countless future lives.
How can we accomplish this? Only by putting Buddha’s
teachings into practice. This is because only Buddha’s teachings
are the actual methods to abandon our self-grasping
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