Pain and Dukkha --> reroute to Buddhism

Having spoken to a Nepali friend and gotten a translation of Dukkha from Nepali I was going to write about an issue... namely that Buddha did not end sickness, old age and death... but he did end suffering. This means that sickness, old age and death are not in themselves suffering. Seeing reality we do not find these things as suffering, that suffering is an illusion. So has been my question and investigation, but not understood. My Nepali friend explainded that Dukkha has the meaning of sorrow to be distinguished from physical pain. I understood that while pain is real phenomenon, sorrow is unreal. A good distinction.

Anyway I began to read on the net and realise more importantly that I am not learned on matters of Buddhism and Dhamma and need to read and understand much more accurately than has been. So far, most learning has been from listening to others and to be honest I have spent more time trying to separate the truth from the heresay in conflicting accounts than actually learn anything. So I'll make a mark in the sand today and actually become learned on the actual records of Buddhism rather than from two thousand years of heresay and muttering that have sprung up around it.

I also realise that I am still tremendously evil! I still fail completely to overcome "thirst" for sensual pleasures, and I am still bound with a sense of "pride" and the worst bit is that I am not harmonious with my world around. There is still strong attachment to a sense of right/wrong. However its not just a matter of no longer looking for right/wrong which leads to confusion which is even worse - but the subtle management of attachment to that. It still infuriates when the self elected "authorities" (which they are in all countries) blatantly and recklessly act in the wrong way, yet still expect to keep the name of "authority" [take Burma as the latest example, after the banking crisis, and the wars and the endless list...]. Authority means "right" by definition, yet when they act wrong who do we follow while Right remains as the judge to their wrongness regardless. So far I say follow Right always since authority is a manmade right and is complete illusion. But maybe this is all pride and causes obstruction to the "authorities" which I imagine Buddha would say is the be avoided... its not clear to me at all.

OK I'll sort out some issues here...

> Form/Emptiness is one meaning of Form, but what of Nama and Rupa?
Nama - naming, Rupa the form that is named. In human being - nama-mental, rupa-physical.
Rupa is empty. What of nama?

> Did Buddha end Pain?


> 5 Skandas - the components. 1)Rupa (form)- all material things. 2)Vedana - Quality of object as good/bad/neutral 3) Sanna - recognition of an object (e.g. colours) 4)Sankhara - mental impact resulting from object 5)Vinnana - Consciousness, life force (e.g. taste, smell qualities) - subtly compare with Sanna.

> 12 fold causal pathway - nidana?
Former Life
ignorance
activities which produce karma
Current Life
consciousness
name and form (personality or identity)
the twelve domains (5 physical senses + the mind + forms, sounds, ..., thoughts)
contact (between objects and the senses)
sensation (registering the contact)
desire (for continued contact)
attachment
becoming (conception of a new life)
Future Life
birth
old age and death.

>Anatta
Anything we might identify as subject to change is non-self (Anatta). It is not therefore worth of calling myself. That is there is no positive definition of self - simply not the world. I can add hopefully to this the insight from self-reference : that the self were it to exist could not refer to itself in anything but empty name - the experience we have of endlessly seeking ourself is what we would expect of a self.

Some Basic Sutra sources
http://www.mettanet.org/
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/index.html
http://www.suttareadings.net/audio/index.html
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/index.htm