Are You Suffering? - Part1
By Liz Glover Wilson
There is hardly a person who hasn't gone through a personal suffering; dealing with a disability, disease, chronic illness, financial disruption, broken relationship, challenge at work, loss, or another form of personal suffering.
Let’s be real. Every one of us has had problems. Perhaps you are suffering right now.
As a fellow human being, I too understand pain and suffering. I am striving each day to understand how to live a life free of suffering. I do hope this sharing will be of encouragement to you.
In my studying of various ancient scriptures and modern interpretations, the message of suffering meets at one point; how we perceive our experience.
Our deepest suffering comes (ultimately) from our interpretation of the pain.
Have you ever seen or known someone going through a really tough time, and yet they are smiling and (maybe even) thriving?
Maybe they are just faking it!
Sure. Or maybe they know that they have the option on how to respond to the pain in their life.
They know they have a choice on how to react.
Sad to say, if you are living on planet earth ‘pain is inevitable!’
In the Buddhist tradition, it is said "Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."
In the Christian tradition, we are reminded that pain is inevitable and we should not be surprised (it is part of life). “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial (Greek: πυρώσει purōsei - heavy calamity) when it comes upon you [which will] test you, as though something strange were happening to you” 1 Peter 4:12
Rabbi Steven Fisdel explains the Kabbalistic view on suffering. “The true root of suffering is, in essence, a disruption of the soul’s ability to express itself fully and to live out its purpose in being present in life. The emergence of suffering arrives when we become fixated on the negative and begin giving it exaggerated significance. So, if we become aware of how some of suffering’s primary causes commonly manifest, we are then in a position to rectify the problem and move forward with our lives purposefully and joyfully.”
suffering arrives when we become fixated on the negative and begin giving it exaggerated significance - Rabbi Fisdel
Theologian and Pastor Paul Tripp says, "If you were to honestly examine your life, I think you would find it to be true: you never just suffer the thing that you’re suffering. You also suffer from your interpretive grid that adds layers of pain to the pain you’re already enduring. We never just suffer from something – an illness, an accident, a disability, the loss of a loved one, or whatever it may be. It’s always deeper than that, because human beings don’t live life based just on the mere facts of their experience. Rather, we live life based on our interpretation of those facts. That means we bring an interpretive grid to our suffering that will shape the way we interact with and respond to suffering.”
you never just suffer the thing that you’re suffering. You also suffer from your interpretive grid that adds layers of pain to the pain you’re already enduring - Pastor Paul Tripp
He goes on to outline three "trappings of suffering;"
The Trap of Doubt
The Trap of Worry
The Trap of Envy
In the Yoga Sutras of Pantajali, there are five Klesas - root causes to suffering
Sutra 2.3: (Sanskrit: avidyā-asmitā-rāga-dveṣa-abhiniveśā kleśa)
(Swami Satchidananda translation) Ignorance, egoism, attachment, hatred and clinging to bodily life are the five obstacles.
The root causes of suffering (kleśas) are:
ignorance
egoism
attachment
aversion
clinging to bodily life
The conclusion is there is (unavoidable) pain, but we have the CHOICE on how much (or little) we suffer.
We suffer mainly because we don't know that we don't have to suffer!
About not-knowing . . .
Jaganath translates the first obstacle (Kleshas) Avidya, which means ignorance. This translates literally as not-knowing. While there is almost always a negative connotation associated with the word ignorance, regarding it as not-knowing reveals shades of meaning pertinent for the seeker. To be unaware of the spiritual nature of Self, suffering, and the transcendent Self. In this case, these truths are not ignored, they are not known.
You can’t consciously turn your back to something you don’t know exists.
How to move past the not-knowing . . .
Count your blessings
Find people to hold your hands up
Serve
Pray
Surrender
In the next blog, I will explore these five activations in our journey to relieve suffering.