Everyone Suffers

People might say to you, "If I only had a big house to live in and had enough food then everything would be okay. Then,say, they get the big house and enough food for a lifetime and then what will they say? Probably something like, "I'm so happy I have a big house now but now I'm lonely because I'm alone with enough food in my big house."

So, then maybe they go to the internet, bar, church, social gathering, walking down the street and meet someone they feel attracted to and invite that person to share their big house and their food and then things seem perfect for a week, a month, a year or several years. But eventually, either the relationship ends, kids are involved and custody battles ensue, someone tries to steal the house from the original owner or whatever. People are unhappy again one way or the other.

The point of all this is not just to go outside and shoot yourself because this is how life really is. The point is to see that everyone suffers. If everyone suffers then one then knows they are not alone suffering. The saying misery loves company comes to mind. I prefer to say, "Samsara sucks". Which is a 1960s statement about living in the physical world where nothing is perfect or stays perfect for very long.

So, the first step toward inner peace and enlightenment is to accept deep in your heart that everyone suffers. Once this first hurdle can be jumped over then next one decides what to do about it for oneself and all others. The noble path and the noble choice is to say, "I am going to take responsibility for my own happiness and not only that I am going to try to end permanently the suffering of all beings".

You might say to me, "That's an impossible task!" And I would say to you, "It's only impossible if you believe it is."

Besides, it is something positive to do rather than taking your own life as if you were a helpless baby.