There’s a Buddhist legend about two men who would later become disciples of the Buddha.
Before they ever met him, they found themselves at a festival—something like Stagecoach, with music, dancing, and getting loaded. Morgan Wallen wasn’t there 2,500 years ago, but the vibe was familiar.
At some point, these two men stepped away from the crowd and looked down on the festivities. “This is great,” they said to each other. But they were both beginning to sense the limitations of the pursuit of pleasure. They had done this. They were getting a little older. And the question was starting to arise: Is this all there is?
They both felt an impulse toward a deeper life, so they made a pact. They would return to their separate towns and dedicate themselves to spiritual practice. If either one discovered something true, he would come back and tell the other.
Their names were Sariputta and Moggallāna.
Eventually, Sariputta encountered a monk who had recently begun studying with the Buddha. Sariputta asked what the Buddha was teaching. The monk was hesitant. “I’m new. I’m not a teacher.” Sariputta said, “That’s okay. Just give me the headline.”
The monk replied: “Of the things that arise due to a cause, my teacher teaches the cause and the cessation of the cause.”
Sariputta immediately understood. He went to Moggallāna and repeated the teaching, and Moggallāna immediately understood as well.
That single insight—that everything arises due to causes and conditions—is the foundation of Buddhist practice.
Nothing Arises Out of Nowhere
Years ago, I was sitting in a train station in New Haven, Connecticut, listening to a Dharma talk by Jack Kornfield. He said something that landed for me in exactly the same way: Nothing exists independent of its causes.
Anything that exists does so because of the causes and conditions that bring it into being. A tree outside the door exists because there was a seed, the right soil, water, sunlight, and time. Without those conditions, there is no tree. A little stand on a table exists because someone saw a need, designed it, manufactured it, marketed it, and distributed it. Nothing appears out of nowhere.
That’s easy to understand in the physical world. But what struck me was that this is also true of our inner lives.
The Causes of Suffering
In Buddhism, we are deeply interested in the causes of suffering. The Buddha did not say that life is suffering. What he said was: let’s acknowledge that suffering exists.
We are born vulnerable: we age, get sick, lose what is dear to us, we don’t always get what we want, and we die. This is built into the fabric of life. There is no version of life where these things don’t happen.
But if suffering has causes, then it can be understood, and if it can be understood, it can be mitigated. This is the heart of the Four Noble Truths: there is suffering, it has causes, those causes can cease, and there is a path. The practice is to become interested in the origins of things.
Right Now It’s Like This
The Thai meditation teacher Ajahn Sumedho often said, “Right now it’s like this.”
Whatever is happening—loneliness, grief, anxiety, anger—you simply acknowledge it. Loneliness is like this. Grief is like this. Anxiety is like this. That simple recognition begins to dissolve the extra suffering we create through resistance.
Ajahn Sumedho also said that the suffering that ends in Buddhist practice is the suffering we self-generate out of resistance to what is.
I experienced this directly after a painful breakup. Someone I loved cheated on me, and I was suffering intensely. I was telling the story over and over again: We had an agreement. They did this to me.
The pain was real. The grief was real. But one day, sitting on the subway in New York City, I saw that much of my suffering was coming from my attachment to an outdated reality. I was still holding onto the idea that we were a monogamous couple.
But that reality no longer existed.
All I had to do was recognize: Oh. We’re here now.
The betrayal still hurt, but an entire layer of suffering fell away.
The Causes of Well-Being
The same principle works in the other direction. If suffering has causes, well-being has causes too. There are conditions that reliably support greater well-being: sleep, trauma resolution, healthy relationships, ethical behavior, meditation, and sobriety.
When we identify and engage these conditions, we increase the likelihood that well-being will arise. This is practical, not mystical.
Sometimes people wonder what following the breath has to do with anything. The breath is simply the first condition. By returning attention to the breath, we strengthen concentration. That concentrated awareness can then be directed into the body. We begin to notice sensations—tightness in the chest, anxiety, sadness—and we become curious.
What happens when awareness meets anxiety? Does it intensify? Diminish? Move? Disappear? The awareness itself becomes a cause for insight.
From there, we begin to understand feeling tones: pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral. We see how the mind reacts to those feeling tones. We see intentions forming, then behavior, then consequences. This is karma. Actions informed by motivation bring results.
When we begin to see this chain clearly, we can insert awareness at any point. A tightening in the body. An unpleasant feeling. The urge to escape. The intention to act.
If we notice what is happening, we can choose differently. That’s how someone stays sober. That’s how we avoid acting out. That’s how we stop repeating the same patterns.
And sometimes the skillful action is no action at all. Sometimes the response is simply to remain present.
This Is the Foundation
If someone stopped me on the road and asked for the headline of Buddhist practice, I would say: Nothing exists independent of its causes. This principle of conditionality is the foundation on which the whole house of Buddhism is built.
When we pay attention to the origins of things, we begin to understand what creates suffering and what supports well-being. We become less unconscious. That matters, because people who move through the world unaware of these dynamics are often the most dangerous people.
The work is to wake up to what is happening inside us and to respond through an ethical framework—with care, honesty, restraint, and compassion. This is an extraordinarily valuable system.
The invitation is simple: pay attention to the chain of events unfolding within you. Notice what leads to suffering. Notice what supports well-being. And when life changes—as it always does—remember: Right now it’s like this.
Thanks for reading,
Pablo