A KORA OF KORAS

according to the Buddha, such belief is insufficient; this Truth must be Realized
and the very first step is the hearing or real seeing of the First Noble Truth: ‘Life
is Dukkha’ (suffering). Therefore and paradoxically, to realize that life is suffering
is one of the greatest of blessings.
The original teachings of the Buddha are not idealistic, they are not about how
things should or are supposed to be; his teachings are primarily about how things
are and he does not ask a person to believe in this . . . Buddha asks people to
observe the nature of life of which the Wheel of Life is a summary. Based on such
felt understanding there may come, in stages and ultimately all at once, an
awakening, what he called ‘Nirvana,’ a cessation and release from the wheel of life
and suffering; but this can only be Realized, not merely believed in.
This is why the ‘Wheel of Life’ was the ‘priceless gift’ that Buddha presented to
King Bimbisara and how it came to be placed at the entrance to every Tibetan
Buddhist monastery.
Without the first step of realizing everything is impermanent and infused with
suffering we would necessarily approach spiritual life idealistically and according
to the Buddha, improperly. Without such understanding, one would enter into
spiritual life seeking to drown ourself in some ultimate pleasure or restrict
ourselves by asceticism; whether we seek to protect our self with doubt or belief,
we will still be driven by desire or hope, unconsciously bound to the wheel of life
and thus merely duplicating the circling pattern shown in the Wheel of Life.