Acceptance versus Apathy

The Xin Xin Ming says, “The Ultimate Way is not hard. Just don’t be picky. If you stop your cravings and aversions, you can see clearly.”

The Ashtavakra Gita expressed a similar sentiment. It says:

“Liberation is when the mind does not long for anything, grieve about anything, reject anything, or hold on to anything, and is not pleased about anything or displeased about anything.”

(Ashtavakra Gita 8.2)

I posted this quote several days ago. A friend responded immediately. He asked, “How is this different from apathy or being dead?” That is a good question.

The First Noble Truth in Buddhism is the truth of dukkha. It is quite common to translate it as “All life is suffering.” But this is inaccurate. Dukkha also includes ordinary happiness. It is just that happy times don’t last. Life has its ups and downs. In this sense, it is never perfect. Impermanence makes life its dissatisfactory nature. But we should not cherrypick and only look at the dark side. It is more accurate to understand the First Noble Truth as “Life is bittersweet” or “Life has its imperfections.”

To expect perfection is to invite unhappiness. The art of living has to do with the acceptance of this bittersweet nature of life. Total acceptance of the First Noble Truth does not equate to apathy, although it…