Greetings,

This month we will be exploring the Third Noble Truth - there is a way to the end of suffering. Before I go into this third truth I want to take a moment to recognize how quickly we're going through these truths. We don't actually experience these truths in a linear way. To understand something in a linear way means there's something that happens first, then second and then third. And when you get to the third, the first and second are in the past. And if you're at the second, the first is in the past and the third is something you're going to learn in the future. We all know time is a conceptual thing which means that you can understand dukkha (1NT) through the present moment act of abandoning clinging (2NT), or having the realization that you've let go of clinging (3NT). You could understand the necessity of letting go of clinging (2NT) in a moment of realization (3NT) of the presence of dukkha (1NT). What I'm pointing to is that we don't let go of the first and second noble truths because we've moved to the third noble truth. We've spent the last 3 months talking about all 4 truths and all 12 insights. These blogs are merely using a magnifying glass to take a closer look at one little detail in a moment in time.

Let's turn to the detail of looking at the Third Noble Truth with its 3 insights. The seventh insight (1st insight of this truth) points to this recognition that there is the possibility of the cessation of dukkha. This is very important. We truly need a conviction (faith) in the possibility of cessation of dukkha. It's why we need to understand what dukkha is and why we need to feel and experience our holding on or clinging to some view, assumption, opinion, etc., etc. Without this conviction we would not strive towards liberation. So this conviction initially comes from a kind of bright faith in something in the Dhamma. It could be your teacher, it could be the words of the Buddha, it could be some book you read, it could be anything. But it starts with something outside of us that we can put our faith in. And as we practice with this complex structure of the Four Noble Truths, we begin to see for ourselves the realization of the cessation of dukkha. This verifies our faith or conviction in the Dhamma. Over time that verified faith gets stronger and stronger until we have a sense of calm abiding, like a grounded trust in the truth of the Dhamma no matter what conditions may arise.

The eight and ninth insights point to this process of gradual realizations around the perception of dukkha, perception of clinging, the fabricated nature of our views and opinions, the limitations of our attempts to control life, and the drawbacks of chasing after pleasure. We need to see and feel this process again and again and again and again. It's why I love the picture I chose for this truth. This kid has the look of what it feels like to experience this truth. And as funny as it seems, we feel this way every time we see our own clinging, or we see some limitation, some drawback, and we let go. We do this multiple times a day and still we are stunned when we feel the possibility that release brings. I think this is because it's in the present moment that we experience it. It's not a thought about release, it's not a wish that we could release, it's in the felt sense experience of release and every time we feel it, we feel it as immediate, direct, and new. The other reason why I like this picture is because he's holding a book which implies he's mentally learning something. But his face points to the expression of the nowness of that learning.

This is one of the fundamental keys to awakening. We can't experience awakening by learning what it is or learning what the path is. The actual path is a moment of experience. It is what happens when we understand the existence of dukkha, we see how we are causing it, we see the ease in letting it go, AND THE CITTA (HEARTMIND) LETS GO. We have to do this over and over and over to strengthen the heartmind's trust in letting go. It has to actually experience the realization of letting go to know that letting go is trustworthy. During the monthly meeting with the cohort who hold the teachings for this sangha, we talked about what inspires or keeps them coming back to the practice no matter what's happening. It was truly amazing and intimate to hear the various ways in which people find trust and conviction in the Dhamma. It's not even about things working out. But there was a sense that each of them had a felt sense experience of this truth.

I think this will be a month of beautiful reflections around this truth and what keeps each of us on this very slow, long and winding path. It won't sound the same. There are many difference expressions of this truth. Let's take the time this month to consider what keeps you on this path.

With a deep bow,

Tuere