Suffering = Knowledge?

[Sally Haden]

Dear Maura
Thanks very much for this brilliant summary!
Sally


>From: Maura Santangelo <maurasantangeloaSTNY.RR.COM>
>Reply-To: Road to Santiago Pilgrimage <GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU>
>To: GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU
>Subject: Re: Suffering = Knowledge?
>Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2003 10:52:31 -0500
>
>Dear all,
>
>I see that a few comments on suffering and expectations are still
>trickling in.  I am impressed by the thoughtful replies which the
>thread has generated.  Not surprising I suppose.  After all there is a
>religion totally based on the reality of suffering.  Buddha developed a
>whole philosophy around the notion of suffering, it is the first of the
>4 noble truths, the truth of suffering.  Of the inevitability of
>suffering simply because we are born and are impermanent and we never
>get what we want, or we lose what we have, or we get what we do not
>want.  But the other 3 noble truths also add that there is an end to
>suffering, that suffering is self inflicted by desire and hatred and
>indifference, and that there is a path to non suffering.  We suffer
>because of our expectations, Pieter is quite right about that.
>
>IN this thread we are talking about two different kinds of suffering:
>the inevitable that comes out of living and not accepting what life
>puts in our way and the gratuitous suffering, the purposely inflicted
>suffering based on the idea that by punishing ourselves we become
>'better' human beings.  Self inflicted suffering is not ennobling, it
>may actually be dehumanizing.  How you can develop compassion toward
>fellow humans if you have no compassion toward yourself?  It is
>interesting to me how many Western buddhists have difficulty with this
>notion.  The Dalai Lama is reported to be quite surprised by the idea
>of low self esteem Westerners seem to have, but indeed many of us did
>grow up with this idea that we can only make ourselves good by
>punishing ourselves in some way.  It is this kind of suffering that
>Mary Oliver's poem spoke to so eloquently.
>
>Maura

_________________________________________________________________
Tired of 56k? Get a FREE BT Broadband connection
http://www.msn.co.uk/specials/btbroadband