For those interested in understanding the teachings of the Buddha, to eliminate suffering for oneself and others, this schema presented in the last post is crucial to understand. The root of the problem is a distorted ignorance that takes appearances to be objectively real. Based on this we cling to our ego. Anything that appears threatening, we react with anger. Anything perceived as pleasant, we react with attachment. Anger, attachment, jealousy, pride are called “destructive” emotions since they destroy our inner peace of mind. They cause us to react, creating karma. Karma whether it is positive, negative, or neutral, keeps us bound in samsara. To break the chain of ignorance and hence bondage in samsara, we need to understand and eventually directly experience the wisdom that understands emptiness. This is reality. Emaho and happy 2018!
