[ordercigsnick]

hello Nathan

yes. if one were to no longer taste the bitter, appreciation of the sweet would decline. by the cessation of suffering, buddha meant 'peace'. when true peace is actually tasted, in comparison, 'sweet' also tastes 'bitter'

i think to practise buddhism, there must be some kind of improvement we wish to make with our life, some kind of reduction of suffering

the total cessation of suffering is certainly possible but, at the same time, it is not easy to do, especially at the beginning stages

accepting suffering is part of the early stages because there are many occassions when all we can do is accept suffering

the underlying emotions are simply too strong and we have no choice but to learn acceptance & experience the 'non-conflict' of acceptance

learning acceptance is like finding a still point or place of safety in the eye of a storm

to try to achieve a state in which suffering is no more certainly does not make sense as you say because often patient acceptance (rather than 'trying') is what we must practise

in the Dhammapada, Buddha taught enduring patience (rather than 'trying') is the supreme practise

until a person has reached the first stage of enlightenment (stream enterer), accepting suffering is an essential practise because, in practising acceptance, the underlying emotions that create suffering are given a chance to resolve & dissipate themselves

this is the same as giving a storm time to pass by and dissipate

kind regards

element