The Four Noble Truths - May 2005

A public talk given by His Holiness 12th Gyalwang Drukpa Conway Hall, London Friday 27th May 2005

by Ilana Pearlman/Jigme Dechen

On a hot humid Friday evening, we gathered at Conway Hall in central London to hear His Holiness 12th Gyalwang Drukpa give a talk on the Four Noble Truths. There was no air conditioning, and he soon pointed out that we were all experiencing suffering - right then! His Holiness went on to discourse on these basic tenets of Buddhism in his unique, exciting and challenging way:- Suffering has a negative connotation in the West, but we cannot escape or avoid it. We need to learn to understand suffering and the fact that we create it because of our ignorance of the true nature of reality. As Buddha Shakyamuni said, 'Your happiness is within your hands'. Even when we are enjoying ourselves we are suffering, because the period of enjoyment is totally influenced and caused by an ignorance so strong that everything gets on our nerves - ignorance here is a form of understanding but, in the reality of the Four Noble Truths, it is a mis-understanding. It is not knowing 'nothing', but knowing 'too much' - being too clever. As His Holiness pointed out, this causes us to get into trouble - too much thinking, the head gets heavy.

We understand all phenomena as permanent and as they appear to be. Whatever our conceptual mind projects is seen as true, because of ignorance. We are driven and controlled by things around us. His Holiness then went on to confirm that the main purpose of life is freedom, which can only be attained by realising the ego and the effect of the ego – we can then know that phenomena do not exist as we see them, but are inherently empty. It is impossible to describe the impact of teachings on emptiness from such a teacher, but in short, this is not emptiness as nothingness or nihilism, but something else that exists 'beyond imagination'. The bottom line is cleaning our heads of the rubbish '99% of its contents' then we can realise what is the truth. Once we realise the truth of impermanence and emptiness, that wisdom must be improved by contemplation or meditation, firstly by familiarising ourselves with the truth of the impermanence all around us - everything in existence with equanimity. Meditation actually means becoming familiarised with things around us as their true nature. Here comes the need for a true Master to guide us, and I can only say that receiving such teachings from his Holiness was all I could wish for. Life, His Holiness assures us, becomes more relaxed, understanding, loving, accepting and cheerful. Who could not wish for this? This will lead to enlightenment, in this life, 'Nirvana is in Samsara' - 'nothing to grab onto or make a fuss of, but a momentary realisation'. His Holiness finished with concise definitions of the Noble Truths: the first is ignorance or suffering; the second is the understanding of ignorance; the third is meditation or familiarising oneself with the true nature of phenomena; the fourth is enlightenment. A friend who was present, a long-term Dharma practitioner, commented that she had never heard so inspiring a presentation of this subject. I feel privileged to have been there. Recorded copies of this talk can be bought at the shop.