Where do all our daily fears, problems and suffering come from?

From our experience of dreaming, we understand that due to our confusion and ignorance, mostly we do not know we are dreaming. Due to this ignorance and misunderstanding we believe all our appearances in our dreams to be real and truly existent, existing separate from our mind, and as a result we develop fear and anger to unpleasant situations and attachment to pleasant objects. It is only when we wake up from our dream, that we realise our mistake, and see how we were fooled by our mind of ignorance.

In a similar way Buddha said “Think that all phenomena are like dreams, like illusions” In our waking world we grasp tightly at all our appearances as existing truly, separate from our mind, and as a result we develop fear, anxiety, anger and attachment to various objects. But in truth, in reality they are all simply mere appearances to our mind, without any independent true existence.

In this series of classes we will explore the true nature of reality, how things are empty of existing independently, from their own side and exist as mere name and mere appearance. This wisdom is essential and through realising and practically applying this wisdom, we will be free from all suffering and experience pure mental peace and joy.

The Great Buddhist master Nagarjuna says

“Those who deny emptiness, they deny everything in reality. Those who accept emptiness, everything exists”.