05-05-2014, 10:25 AM
First we must ask, what is suffering?
Suffering is the negative emotional response to desire. Whether it be a desire to have something, or a desire for something to go away, it does not matter.
When one eradicates desire through purification of mind/body/spirit complex (removing distortions) we necessarily eradicate suffering. One way to achieve this goal is via vipassana meditation as taught by Gautama the Buddha.
That being said, even when we eradicate suffering, we will still experience pain and pleasure. However, we will not have attachment to pain or pleasure. No attachment, no suffering. That is why it is said, "Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional."
It is an error to believe that the eradication of desire causes suffering. The result is quite the opposite. For when one has reached the total eradication of desire, one reaches nirvana, and all that remains is the ecstasy of undistorted love/light.
Suffering is the negative emotional response to desire. Whether it be a desire to have something, or a desire for something to go away, it does not matter.
When one eradicates desire through purification of mind/body/spirit complex (removing distortions) we necessarily eradicate suffering. One way to achieve this goal is via vipassana meditation as taught by Gautama the Buddha.
That being said, even when we eradicate suffering, we will still experience pain and pleasure. However, we will not have attachment to pain or pleasure. No attachment, no suffering. That is why it is said, "Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional."
It is an error to believe that the eradication of desire causes suffering. The result is quite the opposite. For when one has reached the total eradication of desire, one reaches nirvana, and all that remains is the ecstasy of undistorted love/light.
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