The Nature of Suffering

In Buddhist philosophy you are taught that suffering is the hallmark of existence. The first Noble Truth states that everything in life may involve disappointment and suffering. I think most of us try, in our lives, to avoid suffering. We assume that there is a state void of it. I think, however, if we tried to find someone who had enjoyed that state for more than a short while, we would be hard pressed to find such a person - at least here in the West. So what does this belief offer us? For myself, I have found that accepting that suffering is intertwined with all areas of life is freeing. It means there is no more need to question. Why is this happening? Why are things so hard? Why do I deserve this? The answers? You don't deserve it. It's life. The nature of the beast. Life is characterized by suffering. How many cliches exist to justify this? "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger," "It builds character," "Every dark cloud has a silver lining," and so on and so forth. We have sayings built into human language to help us cope with our day to day lives. Lives marked in time by events - the death of someone close to us, illness, and of course triumph. But, again, what is triumph without overcoming adverse circumstances? Suffering gives way to triumph.

I think that seeing suffering as part of the nature of life serves us in another way. It removes the suffering to give it its own place. This way, when times are hard we don't say, "life is hard" we can say that "suffering is hard" or "the suffering one experiences in this life is hard." Of course, the other three Noble Truths tell us that there are ways to eliminate suffering, by altering our own perspective, throwing away attachment, passion, craving. In a society built on such premises, it is hard to imagine leaving that all behind. But, in the meantime, we can accept suffering as a necessary and even appreciated part of life and, in this sense, cope with our own circumstances in a more positive way.

"Don't cling to anything and don't reject anything. Let come what comes and accomodate yourself to that, whatever it is. If good mental images arise, that is fine. If bad mental images arise, that is fine too. Look on all of it as equal and make yourself comfortable with whatever happens. Don't fight with what you experience, just observe it all mindfully."
-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana