Suffering and liberation

This article is inspired by a recent conversation the author had with friends. The friends kindly shared their experiences and thoughts on the more subtle aspect of life, talking about suffering and putting an end to suffering.

The essence of the conversation was that one must aim toward getting out of samsara and attain liberation.

These terms they used - samsara and liberation - are very commonly used in Buddhism. A simple explanation for samsara would be 'trapped in an endless cycle of suffering'.

The conversation reminded the author of his own experience when he studied some Buddhist philosophy, with the expectation of 'escaping samsara' and attaining liberation.
 

Duality

Viewing the concepts of samsara and liberation as completely real and solid, we can easily get caught in a game between these two. 

First, we believe that we, as a separate self, are really caught in samsara. Accordingly, we believe that this separate self needs to escape from samsara and attain liberation.

When we investigate closely, we realize that both these concepts are appearing in our open, free, and limitless awareness. They are thoughts. Mental concepts. 

Samsara and liberation are two sides of the same coin. They appear as opposites to each other, and they involve a 'separate self'.

On ongoing game

See, we create an illusionary cage, and then attempt to free ourselves from this illusionary cage. At the same time, we are just emphasizing this idea of a 'separate self'.

This is a game that can go on and on. It can be very exhausting, to say the least. We keep expecting to arrive somewhere. To attain something.

But, is there really a 'someone' trapped in an endless cycle of suffering? Is there really a 'someone' to be liberated? 

While Buddhism tells us about samsara and liberation, it also tells us about the emptiness of the 'I'.

As we investigate our own emptiness, this 'separate self' becomes more and more transparent. Accordingly, the concepts of samsara and liberation fade away too. 

As the forest and the clouds appear in the same space, the concepts of samsara and liberation appear in the same Space too.

Related articles on this blog:

Through the lens of the "I" - April 15, 2022
The world's unhappiness - March 1, 2022
Our own emptiness - March 8, 2022