Modern Koans – Is Suffering Required?

Modern Koans is an ongoing series that recognizes that good questions are often more important then their answers.

The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man. ― G.K. Chesterton

 

Is suffering required for self-realization?

Suffering offers, in the clearest possible terms, all the ingredients for insight into realization.  But is suffering required? You certainly should not seek suffering or wait for it to pursue realization.

A devastating experience offers us a scientific experiment into the causes of suffering. If we can step back a little during trauma, we can discover that much of our suffering is self-caused. I don’t mean physical pain, or the loss of a loved one. I mean the suffering that comes from worry, disappointment, and regret. These secondary forms magnify real suffering and generate suffering from nothing. At the root is a misguided set of expectations and a confused sense of self.

Circling back, we realize that self-realization is realization that self is a barrier to realization!

Has suffering led you to insights into a better life?  Or has it been unbearable?   Is this idea that suffering is the path enlightenment bunk? Is suffering required to lead a better life?

What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. Get Each Week's Modern Koan in your email box

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