God and Suffering

[Andrew Weiss]

Andrew,
What I like about you is
1) you accept others as they are
2) your commitment to alleviate suffering
3) and to improve the world

I strive to acquire those attributes. What gives me a negative impression of Buddhism is the belief that suffering has no benefit or purpose. Am I wrong about Buddhism?

Thank you for your kind words, and what a great question! Here's an answer (maybe longer than what you asked for, but we have no doctor here today, so . . .)

When Gauthama Siddhartha, the man who we call "the Buddha", gave his first teaching, he focused on suffering. He called these the "Four Noble Truths." He put them briefly:

1) Suffering exists in life.
2) Suffering has its causes: ignorance, hatred and attachment, of which the most significant is ignorance.
3) There is a way out of suffering (or you could say, "Joy exists in life.")
4) The way out of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. He then explained what each of those means.

As one of my teachers put it, there is nothing noble about suffering if it is not capable of being transformed. In other words, you don't really live out the First Noble Truth unless you actually work to transform your suffering and the suffering of those around you. The purpose of Buddhist practice is to remove the root causes of suffering and transform it into something else -- joy, compassion, kindness, altruistic love, and so on.

While this answers the question about suffering in our consciousness and emotions -- we might even call that "anguish" instead -- it doesn't directly address the issue of suffering in the outside world. That is addressed through the Eightfold Path, especially Right Intention, Right Action, Right Livelihood and Right Effort. If we truly practice these things, we will awaken compassion, kindness and altruistic love; and then, as my teacher likes to say, "we cannot help but act." What he's saying is, See the need staring you in the face and take appropriate action.

I hope this answers your question, and I apologize for being longwinded.

[Andrew Weiss]

Why is it the Tibetians are rioting?

One short answer might be, because they see that they and their religion are being disrespected, and because they see their society crumbling around them under the influence of the Chinese.

While most Tibetans, especially the older generations, adhere to the practice of "ahimsa" (do no harm) and nonviolence, and protest in that way, some don't, especially in the younger generation.

[AngryFish]

Andrew,

Two questions come to mind.

Is there then a just place for vilolence?

What is the root cause of suffering?

[Andrew Weiss]

Andrew,

Two questions come to mind.

Is there then a just place for vilolence?

What is the root cause of suffering?

I'm going to give you very personal answers. I'm not speaking for Buddhists everywhere or anything like that. I am also not suggesting that everyone has to think the way I do, either, although I have confidence that there is truth in what follows:

1) Violence causes more violence. It is never a real solution. That said, when the level of existing violence gets too great (see WWII), sometimes a violent response is necessary. One of my Buddhist teachers got into trouble when he suggested that it's possible for a general to practice mindfulness if he minimizes damage and loss of life; I think he's right.

2) The root cause of suffering is ignorance. See my earlier post for more details.

[AngryFish]

I don't mean this to sound farsical, but if non-violent protest was met with non-violent protest, that is to say China held sit-ins and protest marches around the homes, businesses, and places where Budists gathered, in an attempt to disrupt their attempts at normalcy, what would result?

And how can the Budist ideal of do no harm be consistent with acts, even non-physcial, that cause discord and stress on such a wide scale. Surely this is negative Karma. Would it not be more true to the belief to continue to suffer and then bare witness of the truth of their belief. To an extreme, if the Budists were all exterminated from the earth that would not diminish them but draw others to a belief that brought such peace that life was truly a stage in being and to fight for life was a denial of that truth?

[AngryFish]

I agree with you agreeing with the generals thinking.

Is the root cause of all suffering ignorance? Sickness, death etc ?