Maybe you’ve seen this video already. But I find it so funny I had to post it. Especially since it has a good dharma lesson behind it too! How could I resist?
Video: The Second Noble Truth (Canine edition, with maple bacon.)
From Shambhala Sun
Posted by Melvin McLeod
Continuing my viral-video-and-the dharma-series (See The Dharma of Marcel the Shell), I offer you the Ultimate Dog Tease, brought to my attention by Shambhala Sun deputy editor Andrea Miller. Of course the real reason I’m posting it, for those of you who haven’t seen it, is that I think it’s so funny — I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I’ve probably seen it 15 times by now and it still makes me laugh out loud. But there is a teachable dharma moment here.
The Buddha’s Second Noble Truth is the cause of suffering, described variously as attachment, desire, passion, etc. And who illustrates the suffering of desire more than a dog? Furthermore, who illustrates it more than this dog? Just look in those eyes. We suffer because our desires are so often unfulfilled (“The cat ate it!”), and even when they are, they don’t bring a sense of lasting satisfaction.
Like every being in samsara, a dog never experiences the peace of desirelessness. As I try to tell my family, the dog is not begging at the table because it’s hungry and hasn’t been fed enough. A dog is ALWAYS hungry. It’s the second noble truth, canine edition. With maple bacon.