I went to a day-long retreat at Spirit Rock today. Although you’re not supposed to go into deep thought while practicing mindful meditation, I started to muse about why I was feeling somewhat uncomfortable there. Then it dawned on me: The system side is missing! After his awakening, the Buddha gave his most important teaching: The Four Noble Truths.

Four Noble Truths
1. Suffering exists
2. Suffering arises from attachment to desires
3. Suffering ceases when attachment to desire ceases
4. Freedom from suffering is possible by practicing the Eightfold Path

There is, however, suffering in this world that does not arise from attachment! Buddhism only addresses the personal responsibility side of things, not the system side. Granted, there is something called engaged Buddhism. What I have learned about that so far, though, leads me to think that this is basically a charity arm of Buddhism. Nothing is changed fundamentally by engaged Buddhism. And why should it? Deep down, the ultimate goal of a Buddhist is to reach enlightenment, to awaken, to be happy. That means to let go of attachments, not to create a true democratic, peaceful world.

I think there are two kinds of suffering: The suffering that is imposed upon us by the circumstances we live in and then the suffering that is created by ourselves when we fight the reality of those circumstances. To be truly free of suffering, we need to address both sources: The system and our mind. Buddhism only addresses the mind.