Chapter 55 postscript

I try to provide people from all walks of life in society with the core of Buddhist philosophy, the four views, in everyday language.In this way, I need to make a difficult decision in the choice of words.I think it is very important to understand that there is no real and conclusive English translation of Sanskrit and Tibetan Buddhist terms.In different schools of Buddhism, such as Theravada, Zen, Tantra, etc., or even in various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, there are different meanings and spellings.A good example is Zag Bcas (pronounced Zagchey, 打解), which we translate as "emotions" in this book, as in "All emotions are bitter".This choice of word has been dismissed by some as too broad, arguing that not all emotions are pain.Others, however, dismissed it as not broad enough, since Zagchey's more precise translation was very broad.

According to Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche in his book Indestructible Truth, the direct meaning of the word Zagchey is "relating to dropping or transferring".He added: Walpola Rahula, author of What Buddha Taught, translates the first seal as "everything that is conditioned is suffering."It was also translated as "all defiled or impure phenomena have the essence of the three sufferings". Rangjung Yeshe dictionary gives a similar explanation "everything that perishes is dukkha". Still, we could argue that all of these interpretations are either too broad or not broad enough.A serious understanding of many of these terms requires further research and explanation.Basically, anything that is subject to interdependence has no autonomy, it does not have full self-control, and this dependence creates uncertainty, which is one of the main elements of Buddhist definition of suffering.So the word Suffering in English requires a lot of interpretation.

However, I decided to use "all emotions are painful" in order not to make readers look outside for the cause of their pain.It is more personal - our hearts and emotions. In addition, readers should note that the four seals described in this book are quite Mahayana-oriented.The sravaka tradition, such as Theravada, may not have these four seals.They may only have three seals.The three of them are the four here.Since this book is intended for general explanation, I decided to say more about less, and say more about a little, and then there is no need to say more.