TL;DR

Too Long; Didn't Read

Here is a one paragraph summary of what the Buddha taught, explained in my own words, without using any Buddhist terminology or practices or concepts based on Buddhism as a religion.

The Buddha searched for the root cause of suffering, why do living beings suffer, why is there sickness, aging and death? This is the ultimate quest: when we find the answer, then we will no longer suffer. And he is right, for he discovered that each of us live in a universe constructed by us. Our conception of who we are and the world we live in is based on our aggregated perceptions of phenomena. Once we let go, we will be liberated.

Is this just mumbo jumbo and gobbledegook?

No, it is not. The Buddha was not a magician, he was not a “spiritualist”, he was not a holy man or religious teacher, he is not a divine omniscient being incapable of farting. Or at least he did not have the intention to be regarded as such, however many gradually saw him as all that, and more.

He was not advocating eternal peace and happiness, an everlasting life, a spiritual attainment. He was not “enlightened” nor did he achieve “perfect understanding” - these are just epithets bestowed upon him by his followers, who by and large have misunderstood his teachings.

He did not search for a metaphysical end to suffering, he was looking for the actual end to suffering. And he found it. And so can we, each one of us. There is nothing “divine” or “holy” or “celestial” about ending suffering - yes, in this very lifetime, not in some future birth in a heavenly realm.

The Buddha’s “achievement” (end of suffering) can be replicated by us, through following his footsteps. We need to search of the root cause of suffering within ourselves, for “suffering” means differently for everyone, based on their perceptions generated within their constructed universe made up of observed phenomena that together form their view of themselves.

We “create” our own suffering. And because of that, we can end our suffering.

But wait, didn’t the Buddha fell sick, aged, and died?

Yes, he did. And so will all of us.

Ask yourself this question. Who is is that cares about suffering, sickness, aging and death?

After all, we are physically just a collection of atoms. When we die, those atoms (most of them anyway) will still exist, but possibly rearranged in new configurations.

So why does it matter? Why is it so important not to suffer?

Who Suffers?

The Buddha probably started by trying to answer two questions: “What causes suffering?”, and “Who experiences suffering?” or more colloquially “Who suffers?”

For the first question (“What causes suffering?”) the Buddha traced the origin of suffering by progressively working backwards through a set of linked causes. He started by observing that the ultimate “suffering”, ie. aging and death, is an inevitable consequence of life. All living beings will eventually age and die, therefore the cause of suffering can be traced right back to the birth of living beings. All the other forms of suffering, such as sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair, can similarly be traced back to conception and birth, for if we had not been born we would not experience any suffering.

But what causes birth? The Buddha determined this is the survival instinct, or will to live. This “will to live” is fueled by a clinging or attachment to life, which in turn is caused by a craving or innate desire to live, and to continue living.

What generates this craving? It is caused by our accumulated feelings, our experiences, originating from our senses, triggered by the external world and from our consciousness itself.

What of consciousness itself? The Buddha tackled this question by asking the second question: “Who experiences suffering?”

For there to be suffering, there must be “someone” who is affected by, and experiences suffering. So the Buddha started to investigate the nature of “the self”, or our notion of personal identity and “selfhood.”

The Buddha came to the (logical) conclusion that our sense of “self” is generated from our subjective experiences (phenomena) and our accumulated thoughts. In other words, our “consciousness” is “constructed” and ephemeral. Furthermore, we are unaware or ignorant of the “constructed” or transient nature of our consciousness, and hence ignorance is the ultimate cause of suffering.

The Buddha’s concept of consciousness is similar to “artificial intelligence” - we behave like a neural network “trained” on sensory input and generates “responses” that impact our bodies and influences future reactions and responses. Our “self” and “sentience” is therefore also generated - it is a survival instinct to enable us to cope and respond to the world around us.

This was a radical and original idea formulated by the Buddha, different from other beliefs common during his time. It predates many modern philosophical theories. The Buddha was quite possibly the world’s first “phenomenologist”.

According to the Buddha, what we regard as a “self” is nothing more than the sum total of all our accumulated memories of perceptual phenomena, sensory stimuli, feelings, emotions, apperceptions, thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and other mental constructs.

Can you explain the phenomenal nature of our experienced life?

The Buddha’s viewpoint can be described as “phenomenalism” - everything we experience is through our senses and our imagination. Because of that. we are unable to determine whether the real world or physical universe actually exists. Our “world” is effectively a mental construct - a “simulation” if you like - created by ourselves. It is formed from previous experiences, apperceptions, influenced and shaped by language (we “name” things that we can perceive). Therefore our “self” also is named and constructed.

The Buddha points out that this “self” and all the mental constructs are impermanent. They have no existence outside of our minds, and disappear when we die. Therefore the “world” that we perceive is also impermanent, because it is nothing more than a mental construction.

It is important to clarify that the Buddha did not deny the existence of the physical universe (contrary to what some Buddhists believe - that the “world” is an illusion), nor did he deny the possible existence of a metaphysical self which is greater than, and possibly separate from, the constructed self. He simply points out that it is impossible for us to verify or refute these abstract or metaphysical concepts. Nor did he deny the possibility of a Creator of the universe, or the existence of other universes and realms, or the existence of beings superior or inferior to ourselves, such as gods and demons. However, I suggest these concepts are ultimately irrelevant - they have no impact on whether we can eliminate or avoid suffering.

The Buddha’s solution turned out to be surprisingly “simple”. If our sense of self is constructed, then suffering is also a mental construction. In other words, the “sufferer” self-generates suffering. It is our “ignorance” of the constructed nature of our consciousness that ultimately causes suffering. Therefore, to avoid suffering, the “sufferer” simply has to stop generating thoughts or performing actions that will inevitably lead to suffering.

But what do I need to do exactly?

The Buddha proposed a method based on an experiential learning cycle, in eight steps. These steps are based on modifying our thoughts and actions, which in turn modifies our feelings and perceptions, which in turn modifies our consciousness and sense of self, and so on. It is like writing self modifying “code” that rewire our minds. We then perform an active introspection process to monitor our progress, followed by an active reflection process to adjust how our perception of the world has changed and whether we have reduced or eliminated suffering. It is a continuous feedback loop of learning and self-improvement.

The eight steps are:

Right Understanding: Understand the root cause of suffering for ourselves. Why do we suffer? What causes suffering? How does our sense of self generate suffering? This will be different for everyone, as each of us has a unique set of experiences and perceptions that shape our constructed universe. And therefore each of us experience suffering differently.
Right Intention: Modify our intentions, attitudes and behaviour to reduce and eliminate thoughts that will lead to suffering. Cultivate a mindset that is open to change, willing to let go of attachments and cravings. This is not necessarily easy, as we may have ingrained habits and desires that are hard to change. This is also not necessarily about morality or ethics, but more about practicality - what actions and thoughts lead to suffering, and which ones do not.
Right Speech: Modify our speech to avoid causing suffering to ourselves and others. This includes avoiding harmful or negative speech, and cultivating positive and constructive communication.
Right Action: Modify our actions to avoid causing suffering to ourselves and others. This includes avoiding harmful or negative actions, and cultivating positive and constructive behaviour.
Right Way of Living: Live the optimal life - choose a way of living that does not cause suffering to ourselves and others. This includes avoiding occupations that are harmful or negative, and cultivating a way of living that is positive and constructive. Again, this is not necessarily easy. The Buddha advocated renunciation of worldly life, but in my opinion and experience, this is not a requirement. The key is to find a way of living that is sustainable and does not lead to suffering.
Right Effort: Cultivate and make the utmost effort to maintain our modified thoughts and actions. This includes being diligent and persistent in our efforts to avoid suffering.
Right Awareness: Observe our thoughts and actions in the present moment. Introspectively observe and monitor our our feelings and perceptions and determine how past and present behaviour and actions are influencing the present outcome.
Right Focus: Actively reflect on our progress and adjust our thoughts and actions accordingly. This may require adjusting our understanding of the root cause of suffering, and thus going back to the first step. The entire process is a feedback loop, which the Buddha described as a “wheel.”

For some, these steps may seem abstract or difficult. They may also take time to implement - in my case the process took years (but admittedly many of those years were spent deconstructing my misunderstandings of the Buddha’s teachings). For others, the progress from understanding and realisation to liberation and cessation of suffering may be almost instantaneous. However, the key is to focus on the practical aspects of modifying our thoughts and actions to avoid suffering. The Buddha’s teachings are not about metaphysical concepts or spiritual attainments, but about practical steps that we can take to reduce and eliminate suffering in our lives.

Yes, but does it really work?

Potentially one can imagine the above method would work with a sense of unease or dissatisfaction. One also could argue that grief or loss is an emotion that can be dealt with, and even physical pain can be ignored. Can we truly avoid or eliminate sickness, old age and death?

Crucially, this is where the Buddha’s concept of phenomenalism comes in. Given we cannot verify or substantiate the physical universe, illness, old age and death are just concepts in our minds, and we suffer because we find these concepts distasteful. If we can treat them as mere phenomena and not react to them, we avoid suffering altogether. We accept that whatever happens happens, and at the end of the day everything is just a construction.

The Buddha’s goal can be likened to giving up smoking. We understand that smoking is bad for us. The solution is deceptively simple: just stop smoking. However, many people find this is difficult to do. Ingrained habits and addiction are hard to change or stop. We need to constantly monitor ourselves to ensure we don’t lapse. However, once the objective is accomplished, nothing further needs to be done (apart from guarding against the danger of a relapse).

In the same way, we understand that suffering is not pleasant. The solution is deceptively simple: just stop generating thoughts or performing actions that will lead to suffering. However, many people find this is difficult to do. Ingrained habits and desires are hard to change or stop. We need to constantly monitor ourselves to ensure we don’t lapse. However, once the objective is accomplished, nothing further needs to be done (apart from guarding against the danger of a relapse).

You haven’t mentioned meditation at all!

That is right, I have not. I (perhaps controversially) do not believe the Buddha taught meditation, in fact he advocated against the sort of absorptive meditation resulting in trance states that some Buddhists practice today.

There is not a single word in the early discourses, or even in the entire Vinaya (the set of rules for monastic disciples) that mentions meditation as a practice (although some translators have tried to force fit some words he has used to imply meditation to fit their personal biases). The Buddha’s teachings are all about understanding the root cause of suffering, and modifying our thoughts and actions to avoid suffering. Meditation as a practice is not necessary to achieve the end of suffering, although it may be helpful for some people to cultivate awareness, and others may find it useful in the introspection and reflection process.

In summary

“It’s all in the mind, just let it go.” By doing so, one is relieved from the burden of suffering, one is no longer concerned by suffering, one is therefore liberated from suffering and it is extinguished.

Still not satisfied?

Want to learn more. Explore this website, and start by reading the Buddha’s teachings in his own words. I have translated his core teachings and key concepts (that are pre-sectarian and therefore agreed to by all divisions of Buddhism), retaining key Buddhist terminology in Pāḷi (and sometimes Sanskrit).

The Buddha's Teaching in his words Read my translations of his core teachings.