Here and now

I first heard these from Shinzen Young, a Buddhist meditation teacher. Shinzen tends to be very precise in his language and these equations are worth pondering about since they condense a lot of information.

For a lot of people, the noble truths make more sense in the light of these two statements.

Suffering = Pain x Resistance
Frustration = Pleasure x Grasping

In other words, pain does not necessarily imply suffering. It is the resistance that gives rise to suffering. Similarly, pleasure causes frustration when one tries to grasp it.

On the other side of things, we have the keys to satisfaction and empowerment.

Empowerment = Pain x Equanimity
Satisfaction = Pleasure x Equanimity

If we stay equanimous through painful experiences, we are empowered. Staying equanimous through pleasurable experiences results in a feeling of satisfaction.

Conclusion: Resistance or grasping is to be avoided, equanimity to be cultivated.

While we are at it, I would like to add two more:

Happiness = Time x Discipline
Space = Happiness

I will elaborate on both these in a future post. These may not be immediately obvious, especially the second one. Stay tuned…

You can access Shinzen’s full article in PDF format here. He calls these statements the Fundamental Theorem of Human Happiness.