Dialectic Two-Step – Will Human Suffering Ever End?
Dialectic Two-Step is an ongoing series of my thoughts on questions that come my way.
Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two. - Octavio
Will Human Suffering Ever End?Response: Everything that has a beginning has an end. It’s also true that anything that has happened before can happen again. Happiness, sadness, pleasure, and suffering ride our consciousness like birds on the wind. They come and go and come again.
Some of the more fortunate among us may succeed in the cessation of suffering, but that success will pass as they do. Each generation may learn from and build on the success of their parents, so there is reason for hope. But, it is also true that catastrophes will set us back and mindlessness remains the norm.
It is the nature of humans to manifest discontent, dissatisfaction, and suffering. It is the price to pay for our marvelous wiring. We notice, we learn, we develop habits, we lose touch, and we become separated from the source of our bliss. Finally, separated from bliss, we become dissatisfied.
But our great salvation is embedded within this cycle of failure. It comes by returning to the beginning of the cycle – noticing and learning. Returning to beginner’s mind as Suzuki Roshi put it.
So I’ll answer your question in a way that is paradoxically cynical and hopeful. No, human suffering will never end. But, because this is true we will notice it and maybe even do something about it.
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