Richard Ferguson asked Gerald Everett Jones:

In order to experience joy, must there be suffering? Sorry for the off-the-wall question, but I'm doing a bit of non-scientific research on the topic with authors.

Gerald Everett Jones Richard, The Buddha assures us that suffering is a given. I'd say it's no more optional than breathing. Your question implies there's a choice. The choice is in what you decide to do with the experience. Humans are meaning-making machines, and making meaning is also a reflex, although you can choose which of many possible meanings works best for your mindset and purpose. Purpose itself is a meaning, an opinion that the human organism has formed about itself, based on a continual process of experience and making meaning of those experiences. Joy is meaningful and, yes, I'd say it's a choice - albeit often a difficult one. Carry on! Gerald.

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