Suffering

What is suffering? There is the physical suffering of the body
through disease and aging, and there is the suffering of mind.Buddha
taught and practiced to eradicate the weight of suffering inflicted on human
existence. Life manifests as a field of experience. Suffering is the primary issue
of experience. The way of life considers the nature of suffering.

 



There is no greater challenge for a human being
than to transform personal suffering that is arising here and now.

 

The word 'suffering' not only is mental problems, but also to minor unrest, upsets and agitation. The suffering of a major personal loss or bereavement. Subsequently there may well come about an intuitive sense that this time of sorrow was one of the most important periods in your life. I learnt something about myself. I learnt something about life.' s it is I is only through pain that we learn.

If we meditate and reflect in our daily life, we can respond wisely to the loss of somebody dear to us. Meditating regularly contributes to calmness of mind, a steady presence, and feeling grounded from one moment to the next. Not to be left unsettled and in anguish, even when someone we love dies: instead, through meditation, we can commit ourselves to staying steady on a daily basis, day by day, hour by hour.


This attitude needs to be present at the time painful events happen
if we are to avoid months of suffering before we become wise about a tragedy.

 

There is also suffering, from the force of unthinking emotional reactions to events. It is essential to develop practices that help with moody patterns, an antidote to the state of mind. Feeling angry and uncertain of what to do with this anger, you could meditate on that life is not meant to conform to our wishes. Reflecting upon the situation of all human beings undergoing birth, aging, pain and death. The old have death before their eyes while the young live with it behind their back. Yet time passes equally for all. You reflect on the reasons for the heart to feel loving kindness for another and their circumstances. You reflect on the value of equanimity when things are not going your way.

Religions may not provide methods to transcend unsatisfactory mind-states. Always trying to show loving kindness when we are angry, is of limited use, it can become a form of avoidance. A religious person may turn their attention to their God as a means to transcend their troubling emotions. But God may not be the solution, only a temporary escape.

 

When problems keep coming back,
they have to be dealt with directly.

 

A common escape from hurt and pain can arise when a long-standing personal relationship ends. You are left with a stack of memories which keep recalling all those days and
nights together. It isn't easy to move on from them. An old Chinese saying says

"You cannot prevent the bird of sadness from flying over your head,
but you can prevent it from nesting in your hair"

 

It's easy to feel trapped in the past. Forgetting quickly, if you meet somebody new, the old relationship will lose its power and vanish. The past has been sublimated with the new, but rushing into the new relationship may deny you the opportunity to come to a deeper understanding of the unresolved issues in your old relationships.

There is a danger that after a while you will fall back into the old patterns. We watch our selves to see what arises in relationship to attitude and states of mind. We listen to the voice within indicating avoidance or escape from a previous situation. There is no greater challenge for a human being than to transform personal suffering and seeing the harmony and beauty from turmoil.

 
Challenge of Change

 

 

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