A KORA OF KORAS

His very first teachings were, “The Four Noble Truths’ and the very first ‘Truth,’ -
‘Life is Dukkha (suffering).’ Suffering was inevitable and inherent in this world
and without awakening to this Truth,29 why would anyone ever be interested in
the teaching of freedom from suffering. If one was not clear that they were
absolutely going to die and lose everything and everyone, they would be primarily
motivated to seek pleasure and/or fulfill their various desires. Buddha did not
teach something called, ‘Buddhism,’ for the sake of any kind of fulfillment, rather
he said that people must first discover and understand the ‘Truth’ of life is
inevitable suffering; because only then, impressed with the suffering nature of
existence, would they be moved to practice the Way.
“This Dharma I have realized is profound, hard to see and difficult to understand, full of peace
and sublime, unattainable by mere reasoning, subtle and capable of being experienced only by the
wise . . . But this generation delights in worldliness (attachment), takes delight in worldliness,
rejoices in worldliness. It is hard for such people to see this truth, namely, inevitable conditionality
(everything includes its opposite) and co-dependent origination (nothing has a self-nature) and it
is hard to see the truth, namely; that the stilling of all desires, the relinquishing of all
attachments, the destruction of craving, dispassion and cessation is Nirvana. If I were to teach
the Dharma, others would not understand me, and that would be wearying and troublesome
- Buddha in the Pali Canon