To know Buddha, we should know Samsara. If we do not know Samsara, we will not know Buddha.
by Khenpo Tashi
What is Buddhism? What is Tibetan Buddhism? It is the opposite of Samsara. If we want to know Buddhism, we need to know Samsara.
DEFINITION OF SAMSARA
Samsara is a Sanskrit word meaning “endless cycle of birth, life, and death and rebirth”. It has two qualities in our lives – 1) going around again and again, and 2) suffering. In other words, it is endless suffering.
ENDLESS SUFFERING
Since we were born until now, we have faced problems endlessly. These are all Samsara.
HAPPY AND SAD ARE INSEPARABLE IN SAMSARA
Nagarjuna, a very great Indian Buddhist master, said something like this, “Too much cold and we feel pain. Too much heat and we feel pain. A little cold mixed with a little heat is temporarily comfortable.”
In Samsara, too much of something is bad. Too little of something is bad. In that example, both cold and hot are suffering. But, a little of cold and a little of heat mixed together, feels temporarily comfortable. Happiness is imperfect in Samsara. Sadness is always near Samsara. In Samsara, everything is prone to change.
BUDDHA IS BEYOND SAMSARA
In contrast, the Buddha has escaped Samsara. The Buddha teaches the way or the method to be liberated from Samsara. That is Buddhism.
THE WAY TO STOP SAMSARA
It is very difficult to stop the turning of Samsara within this life. But, it is possible.
To end Samsara, the Buddha taught to accumulate great amounts of merit and wisdom, and purify negative Karma.
CONCLUSION
ALL of the Buddha’s teachings advise us, in one way or another, to abandon Samsara, so that our sufferings can permanently end.