Buddhism Plain and Simple

Let us begin this journey with a gentle breath, as if we are settling into a soft chair by a sunlit window, the world’s noise fading to a distant hum. Consider life as a grand banquet, tables heavy with delicacies, aromas swirling in the air. Yet, if you look closely, every guest at this table sits in silent confusion, plates empty, their eyes not on the feast but on some distant worry or longing. This is the opening image the book paints, and it is the perfect metaphor for our modern lives: we are surrounded by what we need, but fail to recognize it, always searching, always hungry.

This is duhkha—not just pain, but the subtle sense that something is always missing. It’s the itch you can’t scratch, the feeling that, no matter what you achieve or acquire, fulfillment slips through your fingers. In this first section, we explore why this dissatisfaction is so persistent and what it reveals about being human. The Buddha’s first teaching was not about gods or heavens, but about suffering—duhkha—as the starting point for wisdom.

The book tells a story of a man who comes to a wise teacher, listing his many woes: crops that fail, a spouse who sometimes nags, children who don’t always listen. He hopes for a solution that will erase his troubles. Instead, he learns that everyone has eighty-three problems—problems that shift and change, but never truly disappear. The only real problem, the teacher says, is the wish to have no problems at all. It is our resistance to the reality of life, our craving for a world without pain, that creates the most suffering.

We see this in our own lives, don’t we? We chase after success, love, approval, security, always believing that the next thing will finally bring satisfaction. Yet, like guests at the banquet, we starve in the midst of abundance, not because there is nothing to nourish us, but because we do not see what is truly needed. This is not a flaw, but a universal human predicament. It is the starting place for awakening.

As you reflect on your own life, consider the 84th problem: the belief that you should have no problems. What if, instead, you could accept the reality of imperfection, the inevitability of change? What if you could see the feast before you, even if it is not exactly as you imagined?

This is the first insight of our journey, and it opens the door to deeper understanding. In the next section, we will explore the nature of impermanence—the ever-shifting ground beneath our feet—and how embracing change can transform our relationship with suffering. Let us rise from the banquet, ready to walk together into the beautiful, fleeting world that awaits.