Suffering is an internal condition that is actually not at all related to external factors as generally believed. We are often convinced that the world around is the cause of our happiness (or suffering). This may be the greatest illusion of all and leading more people to bondage and suffering than any other.
Rejecting our pain also leads to suffering because when we do that we make an enemy of our experience. Experience is just that and it is meant to be experienced. Rejecting experience (including our thoughts and feelings about it) is fruitless, deepening the conflict that we would like to eliminate from our lives.
Physical pain (including mental/emotional pain) may be effectively addressed by looking clearly, directly and impassionedly at what is actually happening, without rejecting it, clinging to it, ignoring it, or elaborating upon it. When we choose to do this, we will notice the true nature of pain as being transitory, mutable and impermanent. It is not solid and seamless. It appears and then dissipates over time, like all manifest phenomena .
By keeping an open mind we perceive our situation clearly and accurately. By learning patience we may sit with it and observe without attempting to alter, judge or make any assumptions. We need to realize that we are never alone. Any pain or suffering we feel personally has also been felt by others. No one’s life is free from pain and of course everyone wishes to be free from pain and suffering. We all deserve compassion for we are all in this together.
Simply watching, observing our pain, without attempting to change it we will notice that it changes on its own. Practicing in this manner brings great comfort and reassurance. We notice that pain is no more permanent than anything else and that suffering doesn’t arise out of the pain but instead from our thoughts and feelings about it. Through this practice we will gain confidence in our ability to work with and through whatever might arise in the present moment.
As an old Buddhist expression goes; “If you can do something about it, no need to worry. If you can’t do anything about it, no need to worry.”
So focus on the power of observing what is, and letting go of the thoughts and feelings that tend to develop a storyline and you’ll see that the storyline supports the suffering and without it suffering disappears. One thing is certain, pain is sure to repeatedly come our way in this life. It is inevitable. But the good news is it is possible to choose whether or not we will turn our pain into suffering, or simply leave pain as it is, to arise and dissolve on its own, without our interference, elaboration or rejection. This is always our option, always!
When we observe that people who are the least comfortable on the inside, we see that they usually seek to acquire the most 'comforts' in their material life and as a result they are never satisfied or fulfilled. People with the most comfort on the inside require the least amount of 'comforts' in their material life since they are firmly established in the knowledge that nothing material, nothing external, can ever deliver a true sense of wellbeing because that wellbeing is an internally derived state!
With this realization comes great power and an extremely deep and unshakable peace.
“Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.”... Buddhist saying
Pain is unavoidable and we all experience pain in our lives. Ironically, our attempts to manage or control pain often turn it into suffering instead of type of relief. As a result we may choose to ignore the pain, but then we don’t learn anything from it and we continually repeat the same habits that create suffering.
We might experience pain in the form of depression or anxiety and perceive it as a solid, unchanging wall; when in reality it is full of gaps and moments of opportunity for freedom.
Rejecting our pain also leads to suffering because when we do that we make an enemy of our experience. Experience is just that and it is meant to be experienced. Rejecting experience (including our thoughts and feelings about it) is fruitless, deepening the conflict that we would like to eliminate from our lives.
Physical pain (including mental/emotional pain) may be effectively addressed by looking clearly, directly and impassionedly at what is actually happening, without rejecting it, clinging to it, ignoring it, or elaborating upon it. When we choose to do this, we will notice the true nature of pain as being transitory, mutable and impermanent. It is not solid and seamless. It appears and then dissipates over time, like all manifest phenomena .
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| By keeping an open mind we perceive our situation clearly and accurately. |
By keeping an open mind we perceive our situation clearly and accurately. By learning patience we may sit with it and observe without attempting to alter, judge or make any assumptions. We need to realize that we are never alone. Any pain or suffering we feel personally has also been felt by others. No one’s life is free from pain and of course everyone wishes to be free from pain and suffering. We all deserve compassion for we are all in this together.
Simply watching, observing our pain, without attempting to change it we will notice that it changes on its own. Practicing in this manner brings great comfort and reassurance. We notice that pain is no more permanent than anything else and that suffering doesn’t arise out of the pain but instead from our thoughts and feelings about it. Through this practice we will gain confidence in our ability to work with and through whatever might arise in the present moment.
As an old Buddhist expression goes; “If you can do something about it, no need to worry. If you can’t do anything about it, no need to worry.”
So focus on the power of observing what is, and letting go of the thoughts and feelings that tend to develop a storyline and you’ll see that the storyline supports the suffering and without it suffering disappears. One thing is certain, pain is sure to repeatedly come our way in this life. It is inevitable. But the good news is it is possible to choose whether or not we will turn our pain into suffering, or simply leave pain as it is, to arise and dissolve on its own, without our interference, elaboration or rejection. This is always our option, always!
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