Sharing the Burden of Suffering

When the body with its mind and consciousness is born into the world, it begins to suffer.

Many spiritual teachers, including the Buddha and Christ, referred to the problem of suffering as the greatest affliction affecting humanity’s lives in the world.

Everyone is aware of the depth of the darkness that consumes our well-being throughout our lives and how this can be emphasized through our relationships with each other.

Many religions suggest that God made us suffer because in that way we are expected to understand the truth and what is good to serve god’s will.

We cannot just stop suffering and we know very little, as a species, why we suffer in different ways. We are content to blame others for causing our suffering and grief and we cannot understand the reason for whole groups have to suffer from wars and natural disasters.

Constantly we strive to reach a state of happiness in life, but rarely we do not know what it really means to be happy. We think we will find happiness in relationships, as well as in the accumulation of wealth and objects, However, this only gives us pleasure and not happiness which is short-lived and suddenly our pleasure ends and we are back to where we started.

Do you think this world of ours is built on the continuous struggle of wars and multiple deaths that result from the insanity of one man’s desires and ideals? All wars are instigated by personal beliefs such as individuals who seek power and self-importance, whereas natural disasters are impersonal in what is imposed on human suffering.

We should consider that when the body was born into the world that everything initially experienced was alien and frightening, however, parents instinctively protected their children from being endangered by the world’s violence.

Unfortunately, parents have never been spared from suffering in their lives after being led into ignorance why they too suffer, and although they have good intentions with their own children’s welfare unconsciously, they reflect their apprehensions and fears in their children’s minds.

Where does all the blame lie in this world of suffering where daily we are assaulted with the fear of bodily destruction and degraded self-worth?

Sometimes we may look at another person and see beyond the violence they are exhibiting based on the selfish individual of being ‘me’ first.

When we see beyond that veneer of anger and self-worth of others and perceive the good in them, then we realize their inner suffering and loneliness, and we gain some understanding of the cause of suffering in the world. But we can never realize this unless we see that the same problem is present within our own consciousness.

We are confused by those who seek personal power and who pretend that they are able to make the world a better place, because of their efforts they must be rewarded by their fellow human beings.

We are not interested in their philanthropy but need to look toward those who are closest to us where there is that encouraging smile, a helping hand, a pat on the back, and listening to what we say. It is the small things that come from the love that begins the healing that leads to happiness.

Once we realize the presence of love that exists within our inner nature and see the love in everything in the world around us, we will soon stop suffering by allowing others to experience the greater love within them. Then we will not allow the darkness of the insanity of others to rule our world.

This was the message given to us by the Buddha, Christ, and other spiritual teachers who realized and tried to awaken us to the good within us, and possibly that may be our only purpose for being in this world!