July 13th ~ There are so many varieties and complications and degrees of suffering. We all know that. You know it very well, and we carry this burden right through life, practically from the moment we are born until the moment we collapse into the grave . . . .
If we say that it is inevitable, then there is no answer, if you accept it, then you have stopped inquiring into it. You have closed the door to further inquiry; if you escape from it, you have also closed the door. You may escape into man or woman, into drink, amusement, into various forms of power, position, prestige and the internal chatter of nothingness. Then your escapes become all-important; the objects to which you fly assume colossal importance. So you have shut the door on sorrow also, and that is what most of us do. . . . Now, can we stop escape of every kind and come back to suffering? . . . . That means not seeking a solution for suffering. There is physical suffering–a toothache, stomachache, an operation, accidents, various forms of physical sufferings that have their own answer. There is also the fear of future pain that would cause suffering. Suffering is closely related to fear, and without comprehension of these two major factors in life, we shall never comprehend what it is to be compassionate, to love. So a mind that is concerned with the comprehension of what is compassion, love, and all the rest of it must surely understand what is fear and what is sorrow.
December 27th, 2019 ~ Not seeking a solution to suffering, K says. This is challenging. Understanding suffering leads to understanding compassion and love. We tend to focus on compassion and love first as a solution. It feels like when we focus on suffering, we won’t come out of it. That our society isn’t set up for us to suffer for too long. We have to get back on the horse and be productive. He talks about physical pain in the video “What is Guilt?.” If our pain is too much, we can’t stay with it. We seek help like with a toothache. But with psychological pain, we ask ourselves can we stay with it. Can we stay with our suffering and fear? We will surprise ourselves.