[Mehntswx]

If one begins with the idea that this body is one thing, and then when it dies, consciousness takes up again in another thing, this is not accurate. You have already left that body that you were born with and you have yet to enter that body that you will die with, and by leaving and entering, I mean the continuous flow of cognitive events that is thought to be the 'self'. Actually, it never comes or goes anywhere.

Suffering is a word that means "Dukkha" which is really the sense of always wanting the situation to change into something better, which could also be called dissatisfaction. We even get dissatisfied with what we want. For example, if you are hugging a long lost friend, even though this is wonderful, at some point you want the hug to stop. Why? It has nothing to do with the hug. Only the mind is tired of the hug now and wants something else, like lunch or something. So, this is actually what 'Dukkha' means. It's not like you have to be writhing in pain.

So, what happens when you are free from the cycle of coming and going, free from suffering, is that you are a buddha. The only difference between someone who is a buddha and someone who is not a buddha is that Buddha is not suffering.