Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘The Mahayana teachings radically recast the meaning of the four noble truths. Instead of dissatisfaction and suffering as pain to be eliminated by painstaking training in the path, it takes a new and noble place as the very heart of the path. The problem with dissatisfaction and suffering isn’t that they’re painful but that we misunderstand their nature and purpose. What makes suffering painful is that we identify it as “mine.” In fact, the suffering I experience isn’t mine; it’s the common human suffering. Understanding that loss and pain connect me to others, and to life, I transform suffering. Embracing it fully, I see it as an expression of the radical identity of all things. Experiencing suffering like this, suffering ends. It transforms into love. Loving without limit, I dedicate myself to others and the world.’ (The World Could Be Otherwise)