Has suffering become a taboo?

Thatcher said:I honestly feel like people who have endured some level of hardship—and actually managed to climb out the other side—tend to live much richer, more profound lives.

But let’s be real here—who hasn't dealt with some form of suffering at some point? How are we even defining "suffering" in this context?
When it comes to the actual depth and quality of one's life, I don't think trauma is the absolute prerequisite everyone makes it out to be. To me, true depth comes from the capacity to experience the world exactly as it is—in all its messy glory, from the breathtakingly beautiful to the downright ugly, the terrifying, the striking, the tender, and the simple.

Does suffering actually open our eyes? Or is it that once our eyes are finally open, we simply begin to see the world for what it truly is?

andjelina1 said:whenever I see evil, I just feel sorry, it’s heavy, I get sad, I feel helpless, angry—all at once, I guess. It isn't quite the same thing as soul pain, though.
if you ever actually experience soul pain, you'll know exactly what it feels like. for now, it seems like you've been lucky enough to avoid it.

how would you even know if I have or haven't? 😕 😉

I'll put it this way: I've been lucky enough to go through that kind of pain. And I guess I was lucky enough to find a "cure." But honestly, that pain isn't really like regular sadness or normal emotions... it’s more like being in a completely different world altogether...

Peter Taylor63 said:How can you possibly know if I've actually experienced it or not? 😕 😉

I'll just put it this way... I was lucky enough to experience that pain firsthand. And I was lucky enough to find a "cure." But honestly, that pain isn't really about typical sadness or standard human emotions... it’s more like an entirely different world altogether.

Look, if you've been there, you know that feeling when your soul aches—it's something you just can't put into words, no matter how many people have suffered through it.
Suffering isn't just a one-day thing; it's usually tied to long-term endurance. A soul can ache briefly, or it can hurt for a long time, though I don't think anyone could bear it indefinitely.

You asked me what I am suffering through if I don't know deeper pain anymore.
My answer was simply that I used the word "suffering" because there wasn't a better, more accurate way to describe what I feel when I witness evil.
It's a bit like asking why I still feel warmth if I no longer know what pain feels like.

It doesn't really make sense, and I tried to explain it, but clearly, you aren't interested in hearing it.

Peter Taylor63 said:But how can you even begin to notice anything—how can you actually open your eyes—if this world has already sucked you into its little games and clouded your vision? If life feels good, comfortable, and cozy, it’s incredibly hard to step back and view things from a different perspective. At that point, you're just... asleep. Like Sleeping Beauty! 😁 🙂

See, I don't think it has to be that way. Even the story of Buddha suggests something else entirely—that once a person is truly ready, they see the truth, whether they've suffered or not. It wasn't that Buddha had to go through intense agony to understand, yet he still grasped the very nature of suffering. If suffering were an absolute requirement for spiritual awakening, then the solution to all the world's problems would simply be to ship everyone off to a federal penitentiary for a few years... 😉

hollowviper72 said:Look, it doesn't have to be that way. Even the example of Buddha tells us otherwise—once a person is ready, they see the truth, regardless of whether they suffered or not. Buddha didn't suffer at all, yet that didn't stop him from understanding the nature of suffering. If suffering were truly essential for spiritual awakening, the solution to all the world's problems would be to throw everyone into a federal penitentiary for a few years... 😉

Who says Buddha didn't suffer?

Alex Rogers96 said:Where on earth did you get the idea that Buddha didn't suffer?

Well, look—Buddha actually started his journey as Siddhartha Gautama, the son of King Suddhodana. Up until he was twenty-one, he lived a life wrapped entirely in luxury—he had access to every material comfort imaginable. He truly had it all: wealth, influence, close friends, a wife, and a child. He wasn't suffering back then. Not even close.

But Siddhartha was determined to see the world for what it really is, and that gilded cage of his simply wasn't enough to stop him from seeking true insight.

Beyond that, he spent many years living as an ascetic—adopting a lifestyle that, if I may say so, is best described as "trying to ignore constant suffering." But that approach didn't actually help him on his path; instead, what truly resonated was a simple song he happened to hear one day:

""fair goes The dancing When The Sitar is tuned , tune US The Sitar neither Low Nor high,
Tune us the Sitar neither low nor high,
And we will dance away the hearts of men.
The string overstretched breaks, the music dies,
The string overslack is dumb and the music dies,
Tune us the Sitar neither low nor high."

Source: "Lord Buddha"

That’s why I believe suffering isn't the actual key to reaching spiritual depth. Sure, suffering can open our eyes in the sense that it makes us appreciate the good things in life more deeply, but it can't force the spirit open... the spirit of enlightenment only opens when the spirit itself is ready. Not before, and certainly not after.

hollowviper72 said:Look, that doesn't have to be how it works. Even the story of Buddha shows us something else—that once someone is ready, they just see things clearly, whether they've suffered or not. Buddha didn't really go through all that suffering, but it didn't stop him from seeing what suffering is all about. If you need pain to reach spiritual awakening, then I guess the solution to all the world's problems would just be to throw everyone into a federal prison for a few years... 😉

eh, but Buddha is just one guy out of billions! I guess there isn't just one single recipe for everyone. 😁 😉

Terry Parker15 said:I mean, if you've actually been through it, you know how it is when your soul just aches—that feeling you can't even put into words. So many people have gone through that kind of suffering.
Suffering isn't just a one-day thing; it's usually tied to long-term endurance. Your soul might ache for a moment, or it might hurt for a long time, though I guess you can't really endure it forever.

And you asked me why I'd talk about suffering if I don't know deeper soul-pain.
I told you that using the word "suffering" was just because I couldn't find a better way to describe what I feel when I see evil.
So, your question is kind of like asking why I feel warmth if I don't know what pain feels like anymore.

It doesn't really make sense, and I tried to explain it, but maybe you just don't want to hear it.

Yeah, you can't deal with that for too long. You gotta start healing right away, or else it's easy to lose your mind. You end up like Van Gogh! 😲 😁 😉

Man, I get you. That's why I wrote: 😉 . Of course "soul pain" is hard to describe, but it's not impossible to tell apart from "regular" pain. Then again, even that difference is tough to put into words. I guess you really have to experience that first kind to truly understand what it is...

Hopefully we're finally starting to understand one another🙂

Hopefully, we're finally starting to understand one another🙂

Peter Taylor63 said:Well, look—Buddha was just one person out of billions! There isn't a single "one size fits all" recipe that works for everyone. 😁 😉

Exactly. You hit the nail on the head there—the same logic applies to how we handle suffering... 😉

Terry Parker15 said:hopefully we finally get on the same wavelength🙂

I guess so! 😁 😉

hollowviper72 said:Yeah, true. Same thing applies to that suffering too... 😉

I mean, sure, but I guess exceptions just prove the rule. 😁 😉

Peter Taylor63 said:Sure, but I guess an exception just proves the rule. 😁 😉

Look, there are no cheap excuses allowed in this space. 😁

When it comes to spirituality—honestly—there are no rules. 😉

hollowviper72 said:No cheap excuses allowed in here. 😁

I guess there aren't really any rules in spirituality. 😉

But honestly, none of this stuff we talk about is even true anyway, I guess.😁

Peter Taylor63 said:Nah, let's be real—everything we're discussing here isn't actually "true" anyway.😁

Now, the whole concept of truth... well, that’s a deep philosophical rabbit hole, isn't it? 😉

I’d argue that if we speak from a place of genuine conviction—if we truly believe what we're saying is true—then it *is* true, at least for us and for anyone else willing to embrace it. To put it another way, spiritual truth carries just as much reality as material truth, though it's far more dependent on one's perspective than the physical world is. Then again, even material truth—as Einstein showed us with relativity—isn't quite as absolute as we once thought.

So, if we conclude that truth is ultimately relative, we’re free to champion our own truths without worrying about being labeled as mindless drones—because, in a sense, aren't we all? Or perhaps we aren't.

It really just depends on how you look at it.

😁

hollowviper72 said:The whole truth thing is pretty deep... I mean, it's a big question. 😉

I guess everything we say is true if we actually believe it—but really, it’s just true for us and anyone else who buys into it. To me, spiritual truth feels just as real as physical truth, though it probably depends on your perspective way more than the material stuff does. Even then, physics shows us that even material truth isn't exactly set in stone.

So, if truth is relative, maybe we can share our own version of it without worrying about being seen as just mindless followers? Because, I don't know, maybe we are, but maybe we aren't either.

It just depends how you look at it, I guess.

😁

😁 😁

Yeah, something like that. 😁

But the real Truth... it's hard to put into words using our usual material language. We can at least try to talk about it as closely as possible. Maybe we can just describe what Truth feels like to us, you know, like how it hits our physical selves... something like that.😁

It really does look that way...
but if we can't quite manage to find happiness, maybe we can at least uncover the hidden message buried within our suffering.

And that message is GROWTH! 👍
Use those tough moments as fuel for personal growth instead of just spiraling into self-pity! 👍
Besides, those are usually the exact times when awareness feels most constant and real! 😂 😂

Gaudrath said:The whole concept of truth is... heavy. A deep philosophical rabbit hole. 😉

I suppose if we speak from a place of genuine conviction, then what we say is true—at least for us and those who see it that way. In my view, spiritual truth holds just as much reality as material truth, though it’s far more dependent on perspective. Then again, even physical facts aren't as absolute as we once thought; relativity proved that too.

So, if truth is ultimately relative, maybe we can share our own versions without worrying about being labeled as mere pawns. Because, in a sense, we are. But maybe we aren't either.

It all depends on how you look at it.

😁

sweet😁 👍

masterblaster said:We’re all dealing with some version of pain, aren't we? But lately, it feels like there's this massive, unspoken pressure—this absolute imperative—to just be happy, or at least to force ourselves into being happy. What happens if we just can't get there? Has suffering somehow become something we're supposed to feel ashamed of?

Yeah.
It really is. Though, if you look at it a certain way, that struggle might actually be the most effective tool we have for truly getting to know ourselves.
And it's how we learn about other people, too. 😁😁
Even if that realization comes through a bit of shame. 😉