Is there value in suffering?

[Native spirit]

There are many reasons why people suffer. it depends who inflicted the suffering if it was you maybe you thought you deserve to suffer from outside influence people being unkind by what they say,
Others suffer through illness etc that is different they have little control over it.

My niece who has passed now was born with Edwards syndrome my brother and his wife were told she would never leave special care we all went in to see her I turned to my brother and said she is stronger than they think she will leave hospital,
and she did she couldn't walk speak feed herself but she survived and she had a Determination about her that they didn't see
she couldn't cry out in pain only make a noise she used to sit in a baby walker my sister in law thought she would be ok she turned around my niece had moved herself next to her she passed when she was 7 the doctors told my brother she would never be able to do anything she surpassed what they said they said she must have suffered that was not a word my niece was going to except


Namaste

[JustBe]

Originally Posted by ReturningMoon

I have seen some cases where all that person did was suffer until the end of their life. That's the sad part.
I think maybe in this life you could reap the rewards of your suffering if you're lucky, but not everyone does.
Any additional thoughts would be appreciated.

In my experience the deeper you go into your own suffering the more you source the depth of your human nature in all ways of being you. In people’s ignorance, stubbornness and unbending natures, they sometimes do hold into stuff for a long time, sometimes all their lives.

Is it luck you reap what you sow?

It’s a complex arrangement that is difficult to answer with just luck. Circumstances, environments, type of suffering, support, awareness and much more determine so much of our choices in the whys or cant’s.

[OldChap]

Suffering is a very interesting subject.

Nothing is ever random, coincidental, lucky, or unlucky.

Everything happens with the singular purpose of helping us mature spiritually to have love and compassion for one another.

All the extreme hardships we had gone through will make us have deeper understanding and greater compassion for those who are going through the same now.

The further we move along the spiritual path to love and compassion and start to see the bigger picture, then what we earlier saw as our suffering will now be seen as blessed and grateful lesson opportunities to gain more wisdom and benevolent maturity.

It is humans becoming less judgmental and less harsh, and more caring and understanding.

It is humans complaining less and blaming less, more grateful to be alive and with more respect for life.

Softer humans with more peace and joy in heart and mind, becoming more in Oneness with what some call God, or the Soul, or Creative Source, or the Universe, or simply with everything.

Then we will begin to see everything from a benevolent perspective.

Take for example, many have deep hatred for a mythical creature they call Satan who caused all the evilness in this world. From a benevolent perspective did all the evilness not pushed many hard to seek the love of God with more urgency and vigor for calming comfort, hope, and benevolent guidance? Who is the angel now?

Another example, war is horrible and caused many to suffer or be killed. From a benevolent perspective, did war not make us want peace even more and have greater appreciation for times of peace. And with the scarcity of food and goods during a war, did that not make us be more grateful and less wasteful with what we have after the wars.

[lemex]

And with the scarcity of food and goods during a war, did that not make us be more grateful and less wasteful with what we have after the wars.

I must disagree with this because of the fact there was no scarcity of food and goods before the war. We are taught scarcity and create it. Cause and effect as well. Would you include lessons to learn. Wondering? As suggested it's certainly not luck that we reap what we sow. We fight wars for what we already have. Current wars, further wars, past wars, are wrong imo. Do we realize there will be none of those things spiritually and so we will have in the spiritual sense nothing but appreciation.

[charly233]

Sometimes I feel that suffering is an illusion that sometimes feels all too real. At the same time I feel that it is kind of callous to deny the reality of other people's pain. It is sort of obscene to write off the suffering of Gaza and Ukraine etc as mere illusion.

Contemplating the nature of suffering is a source of suffering for me. Yet I feel drawn to facing up to this issue. I hope that facing up to the problem of suffering may help to alleviate the pain. I am afraid of suffering. I have always coped okay with any suffering that has come my way. But i am afraid that greater suffering may come for me in the future.

I do not personally find any value in suffering. I prefer a path of joy to one of suffering. I feel that spirituality is about relieving suffering and pain.

Nevertheless whilst I don't value suffering I feel that I must t be responsible for its existence. I feel compelled to trust in my experience of oneness. That there is only one creative source in the universe and that is me. So maybe I should value suffering since I created it. Maybe I am thinking incorrectly in thinking that suffering has no value. I wouldn't create something that has no value.

But this is why I often feel that suffering is an illusion. I created it but it is not real. It seems real. And it is real on the relative level. But on the absolute level it is an illusion and doesn't exist.

Ultimately I just don't know about suffering. I don't know if it is real or if I has value. Somehow this unknowing about pain and suffering is something I have created. Sometimes I choose knowing and sometimes I choose not knowing. I am stuck in a rabbit hole that I have generated myself. I want to transcend suffering. I want to choose joy. I want to free all beings of all pain and suffering. I hope that my intention is strong enough to make a difference.

[Maisy]

I think there is a value in contemplating how and why we cause suffering in others. Then working to change it.

Also a value in contemplating how and why we cause suffering in ourselves. Then working to change it.

The suffering that happens in the world not due to a human cause, no idea why it happens or exists. Maybe karma? Maybe humans are responsible for some of these things in some way. Like in how we pollute this planet and make all kinds of dangerous chemicals and toxic stuff. We harm our own environments and selves. The average human is said to have 200 bad chemicals in their bodies. All man made.

[lemex]

Something I realized many years ago about the thought illusion holds. There is also reality to it. It is not pure illusion. One must also give up illusion in the end.

[Miss Hepburn]

Oh, I should have said...I started a thread in Non-duality on suffering ...illusion?

[eezi-ulgen]

Originally Posted by ReturningMoon

Any additional thoughts would be appreciated.

Buddhism is designed to end suffering, so it has much to offer on the subject...

Path to liberation: By understanding Anatta or Not-self you can detach from clinging to a self and achieve liberation from suffering. This is a core goal in Buddhism.

...Peace...

[green1]

Saying that there is value in suffering would be inviting it.