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In this episode we explore one of the core teachings of the Buddha\u2014the Five Aggregates and their connection to our problems and suffering.

The Buddha taught that life is pervaded by dukkha, which means dissatisfaction or suffering. More specifically, in the First Noble Truth, Buddha taught that \u201cThe five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.\u201d These aggregates\u2014form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness\u2014are the parts that make our self. When our five aggregates, including our consciousness, are conditioned by ignorance, we experience an unenlightened life subject to dissatisfaction.\xa0

In essence, our unenlightened life is suffering.\xa0

Enlightened life is Nirvana, which is free of dissatisfaction and suffering.\xa0

How do we experience an enlightened life? Buddha said that when we purify our aggregates of delusions, such as attachment and ignorance, we experience an enlightened life.\xa0

In this episode, we begin a journey to purify our intentions and actions of delusions. JoAnn Fox teaches a simple way to check whether your intention is motivated by delusion. She also guides a meditation on this technique and offers a mindfulness practice for daily life.

The five aggregates are:

1. form

2. feeling

3. discrimination\xa0

4. mental formations (or influences of a previous life, mental states or delusions)\xa0

5. consciousness

Mindfulness Practice

1. Observe your intentions before acting by asking yourself \u201cWhat are the consequences of this choice?\u201d Will it bring happiness?

2. What is my intention?

Observe how you feel. Delusions make our minds uncomfortable. If we\u2019re feeling uncomfortable, a delusion like anger or attachment is present in our minds, making our intention unskillful. This is a simple way to see if the intention is good or bad.\xa0

Him I call a brahmana, who even in this existence realizes the end of dukkha (i.e., Nibbana), who has laid down the burden (of the skandhas) and who is free from moral defilements.

--Buddha, The Dhammapada, Verse 402

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Interested in live weekly classes with Joann Fox?\xa0

Visit www.Buddhismforeveryone.comongoing-buddhist-study-program/ to enroll or learn more.

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Find us at the links below:\xa0

Website: BuddhismforEveryone.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Buddhismforeveryone

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