- Can you define what you call suffering?
M. - A state of deep dissatisfaction, which may be combined with
physical pain but is first and foremost a mental experience. As everyone
knows, different people can perceive the same things in completely
opposite ways, either as pleasant or as unpleasant. Suffering arises
when the self, the 'm e' that we cherish and protect, is threatened, or
doesn't get what it wants. The most intense physical sufferings can be
experienced in very different ways according to our state of mind.
Moreover, ordinary goals in life, like power, possessions, the pleasures
of the senses and fame, can procure temporary satisfaction but are
never permanently satisfying. One day or another, they're bound to
turn into sources of unhappiness. They can never bring lasting fulfillment,
or an inner peace untouched by outer circumstances.
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