Dukkha

[I]

I talked to my son's class about Buddhism Friday.

I'm no exemplar; while it is an everyday practice, most of my practice involves reciting bits of theory in my head while forgetting to actually live them on a moment to moment basis, every day. Why? Because it's fucking hard. Why? Because life is hard.

Sometimes I think life is just a repeated kick in the balls, all because of my mind. I didn't quite put it that way to the kids. But that sentence contains, actually, the First and Second Noble Truths. Life is suffering, and all suffering arises from the way we think.

I've read the word "suffering" is a mistranslation of "dukkha," which actually means "out of kilter," like a wagon wheel on a crooked axle. Life doesn't make sense. Sometimes it's dookie. But there's a way out...