The central figure of Buddhism is not a god, but a human being: Siddhartha Gautama. According to Buddhist tradition, Gautama was the heir to a small kingdom in the Himalayas around the year 500 AEC. The young prince was deeply affected by the suffering he saw around him.. I observed that men, women, children and the elderly suffered not only from occasional calamities, like war or plague, but also because of anxiety, frustration and discontent, all of this is an inseparable part of the human condition. This observation led him to question the meaning of life and look for a way to free himself from that suffering., which eventually led to his awakening, becoming the buddha, he “Despierto”.
People seek wealth and power, acquire knowledge and possessions, They have sons and daughters, they build houses and palaces. However, no matter what they get, they are never satisfied. The poor dream of riches, those who have a million want two, and those who have two million want ten. Even the rich and famous are rarely satisfied. They too are beset by incessant obligations and worries., until the disease, old age and death bring them a bitter end. Everything one has accumulated vanishes like smoke. Life seems like a meaningless race. But, how to escape from this trap? Is there a way to live more fully and meaningfully?? How can we find peace and contentment in the midst of life's inevitable difficulties??
We live disconnected, like automata, with the subtle feeling of having lost something essential, which leads us to seek the way back to our true nature. In this context, The practice of Zen meditation offers a powerful means to reconnect with that lost essence and transform our daily lives.. The Zen Approach, based on direct experience and internal observation, invites us to cultivate mindfulness and develop a deep understanding of our own mind and the reality around us.
When we analyze the first important teaching that the Buddha gave after his awakening, we discovered that what he offered, what he considered most important to convey, It was a conceptual framework of understanding. This teaching was expressed in the Four Noble Truths (Samyutta Nikaya 56:11). In these truths, the Buddha encapsulated, in four key insights, the understanding that would allow others to awaken and find the lasting peace and happiness that he himself had achieved. These truths were presented as guides for action, something that had to be explored and verified through our own experience. Instead of believing in them with blind faith, The Buddha offered the Four Noble Truths as a guide for those who also feel that “life must be more than this.”.
The key concept in the Four Noble Truths is dukkha, a Pali word that is usually translated as 'suffering', although this translation may be misleading. Dukkha should be understood more broadly as a general feeling of dissatisfaction or disagreement, which can manifest itself in many ways, from physical pain to emotional distress or lack of purpose in life. The term dukkha It encompasses the entire range of human experiences that distance us from plenitude and satisfaction.. Instead of limiting ourselves to the idea of suffering as something extreme, dukkha se refiere a esa constante sensación de que “algo falta”, that life as we are living it is not enough.
The Buddha distinguished three levels of dukkha (Samyutta Nikaya 38:14). The first is related to situations of obvious suffering, like physical and emotional pain. These experiences are inevitable, but the Buddha taught that the additional suffering we add to these sensations through our relationship with them is optional.. He used the metaphor of the two arrows: the first arrow is the inevitable pain, and the second arrow is the suffering we inflict on ourselves by resisting or clinging to that pain. Zen helps us develop a healthier relationship with pain and difficulties, allowing us to experience the first arrow without shooting ourselves the second. In daily practice, This translates into the ability to accept life's difficulties with serenity., without adding unnecessary suffering.
The second level of suffering is related to change. We wish that the experiences of happiness and joy last indefinitely., but the reality is that everything changes. We would like our new clothes and our new car to look the same as the day we bought them., but they inevitably deteriorate. We would like our love relationships to remain as intense as at the beginning, But they inevitably go through ups and downs., and eventually our loved ones die. All this change is one more foundation for dukkha. The change, per se, It's not necessarily a problem. It becomes a source of suffering because our minds refuse to accept impermanence.. Zen meditation teaches us to embrace change as a natural part of life, to see impermanence not as a threat, but as an opportunity to live more fully.
The third level of dukkha It is related to the conditionality of our experience. Everything that happens in our lives depends on a multitude of changing conditions, many of which are out of our control. This lack of reliability and the tendency to want to control and predict everything is a deep source of suffering.. One of the most damaging aspects of this ignorance is our tendency to identify with the changing aspects of our experience., like our moods, feelings and thoughts, believing that these reflect a fixed and immutable identity. This error traps us in a distorted view of ourselves and the world., creating a perpetual cycle of dissatisfaction. Zen meditation, by cultivating mindfulness and even-handed observation, helps us dismantle this illusion and see things as they are, free from our projections and expectations.
Zen meditation, in this context, becomes a powerful tool to confront and transcend these levels of dukkha. Through regular practice, we learn to observe our mind, to see how suffering arises and to relate to our experiences in a more skillful and conscious way. Meditation teaches us to stop shooting the second arrow at ourselves, to accept change and live in harmony with the conditional nature of our existence. This way, Zen is not just a meditation practice, but an approach to living in the world with greater wisdom, compassion and inner peace.
The Buddha taught that freedom from suffering is possible, and this is expressed in the Third Noble Truth: the cessation of suffering is Nirvana, a state of peace and joy that is already part of our original nature. To achieve this state, The Buddha proposed the Noble Eightfold Path, a gradual path that guides us towards liberation. The constituents of this path are: correct vision, right intention, correct speech, correct action, correct way of life, correct effort, correct attention and correct concentration. This path should not be understood as a set of external moral mandates, but as a series of practical principles that help us cultivate a more conscious and balanced life. By applying these principles and practicing Zen meditation, we can experience a profound transformation in our daily lives. The serenity and balance developed through meditation allows us to face life's challenges with greater clarity and compassion.. Instead of reacting impulsively to circumstances, We learn to respond from a place of inner peace.
This transformation process, It's not an escape from reality., but a deeper commitment to it. Through meditation, we do not seek to avoid suffering, but to understand it at its root, and in doing so, we discover a freedom that does not depend on external circumstances. This freedom is the heart of the Buddhist path: the ability to live in the world without being slaves to our desires and fears, to be fully present in every moment, accepting both joy and pain with an open heart. The practice of Zen, so, It is not just a meditation technique, but a way of life that leads us to a deeper understanding of ourselves and our interconnection with everything around us.
So, The impact of Zen meditation on everyday life is profound: frees us from the mental patterns that trap us in suffering, teaches us to live in harmony with reality as it is, and guides us towards a fuller and happier existence.