Life
The cause-effect nature of life
The teaching of Buddhism centers primarily on human existence consisting of life, suffering, death and the way out of it. The Buddhist perspective on life, suffering and death can never be truly understood apart from the Buddhist laws of causality (Paticcasamuppada) and mutation. For the Buddhist these two laws are natural laws that operate universally in all physical and mental phenomena. The law of cause and effect is thus expressed: "when this exists, that exists, when this arises, that arises, when this is not, that is not, when this ceases, that ceases."1 This is interpreted as meaning that all that exists is the result of antecedent causes. Each "event" or "happening" acts as the cause or the necessary condition for the arising of the following event, which then provokes or causes another event. Thus, as used in Buddhism, the relation between cause and effect is only that of the earlier to the later phase of a single process. Therefore, in the context of this natural law, life consists of many psychophysical factors.2 It is a fabric of causes and effects, arising existing and continuing by the concatenation of these factors mutually conditioning one another. In Buddhism this process is specifically referred to as the kamma process. Kamma (or karma in Sanskrit) means volitional activity whether mental, verbal or physical. The concept is used to emphasize that life consists of interwoven activities of causes and effects. In this sense the preceding cause transmits its potential force to, and is received by, the following effect. Life is made possible because each of these factors is both conditioning and conditioned, with no beginning and no end point : the process is an endless cycle. Death is considered an integral part of existence and is one phase of this endless cycle; in no sense is death seen as terminating the cycle. This conditioned existence is called in the Buddhist texts samsara3 and represented in Buddhist art by the Wheel of Life (bhavacakra).4 This is in contrast to the unconditioned state of nibbana (nirvana in Sanskrit), which is the Buddhist highest ideal.5
The frailty and insecurity of life
In addition to this cause-and-effect nature of life, there is also an emphasis placed on its impermanence (anicca) and insubstantiality (anatta), through another law of mutation also referred to as the law of change. This law is expressed in the following formula : "all compound things are impermanent."6 By definition a compound object cannot be static or stable. In Buddhism this is extended to the idea that everything physical or mental is by nature transitory and in a constant state of change. Whatever rises must fall. This state of change must thereby result in decline and decay. In this sense existence is an unending cycle of growth and decay, integration and disintegration. That change is the very essence of existence is implied by the law of mutation, and this is applied to the life process. In this process the apparent unity of existence is divided into five aggregates, known as the khandhas. These five aggregates are material form (rupa), feeling (vedana), perception (sanna), disposition (sankhara) and consciousness (vinnana) and they include three traits : arising, remaining and passing away.7 Owing to its ephemeral nature, life is like a dream, quite brief and fleeting. However, Buddhism encourages us to work with this fleeting nature of life. Buddhism teaches that life, however brief, should be lived fruitfully so that there are no regrets. By emphasizing that the present moment is of paramount importance, Buddhism defines this moment as both cause and effect. As an effect the present is the product of the past, and as a cause it is the building block of the future. It is the only moment of life that one can free oneself from the effects of the past and at the same time project oneself into the future.
The void in life
Along with the frailty and insecurity of life, it is believed that at the center of existence there is a void. This void is the result of the insubstantial nature of life, and the aggregates, although forming a recognizable and perceivable object, do not produce a substance " all of them are insubstantial, a part of the endless movement of life. Even consciousness, considered the most important of the five aggregate, is in a state of constant flux. It has no stable quality and thus cannot remain constant for even a single second. In the thinking process, as thoughts enter and leave, there is no substantial ego. The apparent sameness seen in life is actually the continuity of preceding causes and subsequent effects. An analogy would be a process of filming in which projections are made of a series of running movements by many people to give the appearance of the action of one running person. The unity arises from continuity. It is the spectator who perceives this series as a single person. In the same way there is no identity in the process of change. What exists is the rapid change and unbroken line of causes and effects. This gives rise to the concept of a substantial self in the same way that one ray of light is produced by a succession of flames.
The reality and illusion of life
Despite this plain fact of experience people still believe in ego-consciousness, clinging to the fallacy that there is a permanent, abiding substance of Soul in and behind consciousness. Life for them is therefore a reality and an illusion. The five aggregates are real, but the enduring Ego is illusion. The term "self" is a name for the linkage of all five aggregates just as the term "human being" refers to an aggregate of body and mind. For Buddhism this term "self" is a societal invention for the purpose of communication. Therefore the "self" is an idea, not real. Devoid of a substantial Ego, life is like a bubble, with its center a void. This non-egocentric view of life is a belief and an explanation of human existence unique to Buddhism. This understanding encourages us to look at life objectively and to refrain from viewing it in terms of self-centeredness. By negating the self in life Buddhism tries to eliminate the vanity caused by self-absorption.
Suffering
The painful aspect of life
We may then conclude that in the Buddhist perspective life is characterized by three important traits : conditionality (cause and effect), impermanence, and insubstantiality. There is also one additional trait which must be mentioned. This is suffering (dukkha).8 Suffering is used in Buddhism as a broader concept to include pain, grief, misery or unsatisfactoriness, which would normally be seen by most people as suffering, as opposed to happiness; it refers also to a unique phenomenon of the universe. In general there is impermanence and imperfection of life, which both cause suffering. Some elements of suffering, such as grief, pain, misery, are inherent in the experience of living and cannot be avoided. Should a person be fortunate enough to avoid most forms of suffering, there is no question that death as the final form of suffering is inevitable. And one's own death or the death of one who is deeply loved causes suffering. Owing to this reality of death, Buddhism concludes that human existence is insecure, fragile and filled with suffering.
The very transitory nature of life is a cause of suffering, for even happiness is seen to be temporary. While experiencing happiness, which by definition is the absence of pain, one has expectations of the continuation of the state of joy. But these expectations can never be met.
Certainly, this is no rosy-spectacled view of life. Yet Buddhism does not absurdly deny the presence of happiness (sukkha) in human existence. Buddhist texts list various kinds of pleasures, including sensual pleasure and the joy of family life, that one can enjoy, comparable to the list of the common experiences of suffering.9 However, Buddhism does not want us to accept happiness uncritically. Subject to the law of mutation, our feelings and attitudes are liable to change. Similarly, these objects of pleasures (such as a new motor-car, a glass of beer, a girl friend) cannot last long for they contain within themselves the potential for change and decay. Having undergone change and decay, they cease to give us happiness in their new forms. One should always remember that life contains a number of undeniably unpleasant experiences, which nobody could ever pretend are enjoyable, such as old age, disease, death, being separated from what we like, and being associated with what we dislike. All these make up the painful side of existence which humanity tends to ignore.
The reality of suffering
Buddhism accepts the fact that, like happiness, suffering is subject to change. But at the same time Buddhism points out that there is no balance of happiness and suffering. The painful side of experience usually outweighs happiness. However pessimistic it may seem, Buddhism tries to address the reality of suffering, without any pretence or deception, so as to focus on this painful side of life. At the same time it tries to probe beneath the fact of suffering in search of its causes and a way to end. The Buddha's insight, in its concentrated form, is found in the Four Noble Truths (ariyasacca). They are the truth of suffering (dukkha), the causes of suffering (samudhaya) the method to end suffering (nirodh), and the Noble Eightfold Path that leads to the cessation of suffering (magga).
In order to cease from suffering one should not project suffering on to others. Nor should one become a masochist or a martyr and enjoy suffering. Nor should one find attachment to a substitute whether in the world of art or of such other pleasure-giving areas as sex, drugs and liquor. Substitutes are to be avoided because they feed ego gratification (tanha). In Buddhist thought fulfilling the ego's needs is itself a cause of suffering.
The root-cause of suffering
As mentioned earli