Three forms of relief from ‘suffering’

Over the last decade, hundreds of people — some living with cancer and others coping with everyday stress and pain — have asked me to instruct them in mindfulness meditation. As a lay teacher I look to senior practitioners to help deepen my understanding of Buddhist wisdom so that I may convey it in practical ways. What follows is an example of this unfolding. May it be of benefit to you.

Jon Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness as arising from “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. This kind of attention nurtures greater awareness, clarity, and acceptance of present-moment reality” (source 1).

In a recent issue of the journal Mindfulness, Ronald Purser (source 2) proposes that Kabat-Zinn’s “present-moment focused operational definition limits the depth and potential of secular mindfulness practice to further investigate the temporal structure of suffering … at a fundamental level.” Purser is professor of management at SFSU and an ordained Zen Buddhist teacher. He continues —

In the Buddhist teachings, there are three forms or levels of suffering: the suffering of suffering; the suffering of change; and the suffering of conditioned existence or all pervasive suffering.

1.  Suffering of suffering is gross level suffering, which … most therapeutic mindfulness modalities address—chronic pain, anxiety, stress, depression. I refer to this form of suffering as “first-level” suffering. The Buddha referred to the “two arrows” of suffering—physical and mental pain, and elaborative mentation about actual pain. Physical and mental pain, as the Buddha pointed out, may at times be unavoidable. Mental elaborative pain, however, is a reactive and judgmental response to unpleasant physical sensations or to situations we deem should not be happening.

2.  The suffering of change, or “second-level” suffering, is apparent in that any phenomena that arises will also pass away, is subject to change, and not permanent. This is sometimes referred to as the suffering derived from a reversal of fortune. Second-level of suffering is poignant when we cling tightly to situations or grasp at pleasurable experiences in the hopes that they will never change. We may also seek pleasure to avoid pain, or chase after experiences we believe will bring us lasting happiness, but they eventually disappoint. Such seeking of hedonic pleasure is itself a source of stress and anxiety.

3.  The suffering of conditioned existence, or “third-level” suffering, is actually the basis of the previous two levels of suffering. It is a much more subtle level of suffering, based on the premise that any phenomena that takes form or birth is subject to the laws of karma and dependent origination. This deepest level of all pervasive suffering is rooted in a fundamental delusion, or fixed view, that the existence of a person in a world is a continuous being from the time of birth (until death). Hence, it is the deepest level of existential suffering, or angst, which is haunted by a sense of lack, or a vague and gnawing feeling, that deep down, a primal fear that self may be groundless, empty, and devoid of a permanent and separate identity. This level of suffering is usually repressed, or covered up, through incessant goal-directed activity that are attempts to make the self feel more secure, grounded and real. The suffering of conditioning, or “third-level” suffering, requires the deepest level of investigation of temporality which therapeutic mindfulness is not designed to do.

Sources
1. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are. New York: Hyperion, p. 4.
2. Purser, R. (2015). The myth of the present moment. Mindfulness, 1-7. Full text.