Suffering: A Buddhist Perspective

If there is a way to free ourselves from suffering, we must use every moment to find it. Only a fool wants to go on suffering. Isn't it sad to knowingly imbibe poison?

The Parable of the King and the History of Men

A son of a prince was raised alongside the son of the grand vizier, and their friendship was legendary. When the prince ascended to the throne, he said to his friend:  

*"While I attend to the affairs of the kingdom, will you please write me a history of men and the world so that I can draw the necessary lessons from it?"*

The friend left and returned years later with 36 volumes, saying:  

*"Here are 36 volumes relating the entire history of the world from creation to your ascension."*  

*"Thirty-six volumes!"* cried the king. *"How will I ever have time to read them? I have so much work administering my kingdom!"*

Two years later, his friend returned with 10 volumes. But by then, the king was at war with a neighboring monarch. He was found on a mountaintop in the desert directing the battle. The friend presented him with the abridged history, but the king replied:  

*"The fate of our kingdom is being played out as we speak! Where would I find time to read 10 volumes? Abridge your history even further."*

The vizier's son left again and worked for three years on a single volume that distilled the essence of all history. When he returned, however, he found that the king was caught up in legislating. The exasperated monarch said:  

*"How lucky you are to have time to write quietly! While you've been doing that, I've been debating taxes and their collection. Bring me tenfold fewer pages—I will spend an evening mining them."*

Two years later, his friend returned with only a few pages. But by then, he found the king bedridden in dreadful pain. The friend himself was no longer young; his wrinkled face was haloed by white hair. Whispering with his dying breath, the king asked:  

*"The history of men?"*

The friend gazed steadily at him and said:  

*"They suffer, Majesty."*

 The Pervasiveness of Suffering

Yes, they suffer—at every moment and throughout the world. Some die when they've just been born; some when they've just given birth. Every second people are murdered, tortured, beaten, maimed, or separated from their loved ones. Others are abandoned, betrayed, expelled, or rejected. Some are killed by ignorance, ambition, pride, or envy. Mothers lose their children; children lose their parents. The ill pass in a never-ending procession through hospitals—some suffering without hope of treatment; others treated without hope of being cured. The dying endure their pain; survivors endure their mourning.

Some die of hunger, cold, or exhaustion; others are charred by fire, crushed by rocks, or swept away by water.

This suffering is not limited to humans—animals devour each other in forests, savannas, oceans, and skies. At any given moment tens of thousands are killed by humans: torn apart for food or subjected to endless torments at human hands—bearing heavy burdens in chains their entire lives or hunted for their flesh, musk, ivory, bones, fur, or skin.

These are not mere words but realities intrinsic to daily life: death, impermanence, and suffering.

Though we may feel overwhelmed by it all—powerless before so much pain—turning away from it is only indifference or cowardice. We must be intimately concerned with suffering and do everything we possibly can to relieve it.

The Modalities of Suffering

Buddhism speaks of three types of suffering:

1. **Pervasive Suffering**  

   Comparable to a green fruit on the verge of ripening—it is not yet recognized as suffering but inevitably leads there.

2. **The Suffering of Change**  

   Like a delicious meal laced with poison—it begins as pleasure but inevitably turns into pain.

3. **The Multiplicity of Suffering**  

   Like an abscess erupting on a tumor—it compounds pain upon pain.

These correspond to three modes:

- **Visible Suffering:** Evident everywhere—illnesses in hospitals or war victims on battlefields.

- **Hidden Suffering:** Concealed beneath pleasure’s surface—a gourmet enjoys a fine dish but moments later suffers food poisoning; a family picnic turns tragic when a child is bitten by a snake.

- **Invisible Suffering:** Stemming from ignorance—it blinds us to how our thoughts and actions generate unhappiness.

Hidden Suffering: An Example

Even in something as ordinary as eating an egg lies hidden suffering. On battery farms:

- Male chicks are separated at birth and sent straight to grinders.

- Hens are kept under artificial light day and night to grow faster and lay more eggs.

- Overcrowding makes them aggressive—they tear at each other's feathers.

None of this is apparent in your breakfast egg.

Causes of Suffering

Is there any way to put an end to suffering? According to Buddhism:

- Suffering will always exist universally.

- However, every individual has the potential for liberation from it.

Suffering arises because life is governed by impermanence and interdependence:

- Disease

- Old age

- Death

- Separation from loved ones

- Forced coexistence with oppressors

- Confrontation with fears

But Buddhism does not see this as cause for despair because suffering has identifiable causes—and thus solutions.

Common Misconceptions About Suffering

1. Believing unhappiness is inevitable due to divine will or immutable principles.

2. Thinking unhappiness has no cause—that it descends randomly upon us.

3. Fatalism—the idea that causes always produce unchangeable effects.

If unhappiness had immutable causes:

- Flowers could grow in the sky.

- Light could create darkness.

But everything that occurs has causes—and those causes can change.

The Four Noble Truths

Over 2,500 years ago—seven weeks after attaining Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree—the Buddha gave his first teaching in Deer Park outside Varanasi:

1. **The Truth of Suffering**  

   Not only obvious suffering but also subtler forms like hidden and invisible suffering.

2. **The Truth of Its Causes**  

   Ignorance engenders craving and malice—the mental poisons that poison our lives and others'.

3. **The Truth That an End Is Possible**  

   Since mental poisons can be eliminated.

4. **The Truth of the Path**  

   The process for eliminating these causes through wisdom and compassion.

In brief: Recognize suffering → Eliminate its source → End it by practicing the path.

Making Use of Suffering

While suffering is never desirable, when inevitable it can serve as an extraordinary teacher:

- It reveals our fragility.

- It reminds us what truly matters.

- It awakens us to deeper truths about existence.

Stories of Resilience

1. **Dr. Choedrak (Dalai Lama’s Physician):** Survived 20 years in forced labor camps without bitterness—meditating on compassion sustained him.

2. **A Tibetan Nun:** Survived total darkness for months during imprisonment—her meditation practice kept her mind serene despite her physical ordeal.

3. **A Bhutanese Man Without Limbs:** Radiates joy despite his condition—villagers seek his advice because being near him brings them peace.

These individuals show that even under unimaginable conditions one can cultivate inner peace through mindfulness and compassion.

Exercises for Transforming Suffering

Mental Imagery

Visualize soothing luminous nectar dissolving your pain into well-being until it permeates your entire body.

Compassion Practice

Imagine sending all your happiness and vitality as cool white light to others who suffer while taking their pain upon yourself as a gray cloud that dissolves into your heart’s light without leaving any trace.

Suffering is universal—but liberation is possible through wisdom and compassion. By understanding its causes and cultivating inner strength through mindfulness practices like meditation or compassion exercises—we can transform our relationship with suffering into one that leads toward peace for ourselves and others alike.