Wandering Outside

The secret of duhkha [dukkha] and the overcoming of duhkha is profoundly simple: as long as we wander in search of satisfactions outside, we will remain unfulfilled. It may be a thirst for little things -- dinner at a restaurant, a movie, a shopping trip -- or it may be something bigger, such as wealth, power, or fame. Whatever it is, as long as the drive is selfish, we are wandering outside, and so we will always be insecure, always be unsatisfied.

As long as our happiness is dependent upon fulfilling some condition outside -- as long as there is an "if" anywhere -- the Buddha's truth about suffering will rule our lives. But as we begin to bring back all our selfish desires and unite them into the supreme desire for nirvana, gradually we will find sorrow leaving us.

---Essence of the Dhammapada: The Buddha's Call to Nirvana, by Eknath Easwaran---