DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - How do we deal with physical suffering (self and others)

**tq4F7YKs** · 07-08-2011, 08:56 PM

After reading some basic things on Buddhism and almost done with the Dalai Lama's book on the Heart Sutras, I have a question about suffering. I know freedom from sufffering is a sort of state of mind, and adjusting how you are thinking. If someone is clearly suffering with something terrible like cancer (my partner's parents both died when she was young) or have been a sexual trauma survivor like myself, how can I reconcile those things? How can one adjust their mind for something troubling? I don't think I have to think these things are good things in order to go forth. They're really not. I'm going to be sad if someone has a terrible disease, and although I have come a long way, there's nothing good about what happened to me. I've learned some things, but it's mostly just caused me grief.

Understand I'm not asking out of anger. I've just read over and over in my current book about the different kinds of suffering and ways to be liberated, and I'm confused as to how to apply it to these circumstances. I'm not doing a "why do these terrible things happen" because I know that one. I just don't know how to apply principles, or even understand them properly, to these awful unsettling feelings.

Thoughts? I'm open to anything, and correct me on anything if I need to be.

07-08-2011, 08:56 PM	#1
tq4F7YKs Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 463 Senior Member	How do we deal with physical suffering (self and others) After reading some basic things on Buddhism and almost done with the Dalai Lama's book on the Heart Sutras, I have a question about suffering. I know freedom from sufffering is a sort of state of mind, and adjusting how you are thinking. If someone is clearly suffering with something terrible like cancer (my partner's parents both died when she was young) or have been a sexual trauma survivor like myself, how can I reconcile those things? How can one adjust their mind for something troubling? I don't think I have to think these things are good things in order to go forth. They're really not. I'm going to be sad if someone has a terrible disease, and although I have come a long way, there's nothing good about what happened to me. I've learned some things, but it's mostly just caused me grief. Understand I'm not asking out of anger. I've just read over and over in my current book about the different kinds of suffering and ways to be liberated, and I'm confused as to how to apply it to these circumstances. I'm not doing a "why do these terrible things happen" because I know that one. I just don't know how to apply principles, or even understand them properly, to these awful unsettling feelings. Thoughts? I'm open to anything, and correct me on anything if I need to be.
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