FOR YOU LOVE PEACE ………. MAMITA SUFFER PAIN SKY ANGEL REMEMBER FOREVER REST …….. (Photo credit: LUZ-2011)
I feel overwhelmed today with the suffering of this world. With the death of Shane, a young, passionate writer on WordPress, it has struck me deeply again.
I once saw suffering only as tremendous pain and loss. While it certainly is that, it can be understood on another level. Since last evening, after my night at the Mindfulness Center and our meditation on “Suffering,” I have come to see it in a different light. Now I understand suffering refers to the impermanence of people, things, and events in our lives.
Change is the only permanent thing. Nothing ever stays the same…a concept that I am sure I heard in songs over the sixty some years of my life, but never really understood the depth of that idea of which I do now. Buddha is quoted as saying, “I teach one thing only–that is suffering and the end of suffering.” I am not sure if I grasp that fully, but I believe that one thing that it can mean, is that if we see suffering as impermanence…then the time it will cease, is when we leave this life. Then it will end.
Of course there is more to life than suffering…there is much love…that sustains us and keeps us going. Without love, the world would have ceased long ago. Love convinces me that there is something or Someone greater than ourselves. I firmly believe that all of life exists in the Heart of God…and that Heart is Universal Love. And I believe when we leave Mother Earth our energy is not destroyed but returns to the Creator of Love. It is inevitable that we each will die. Death is escaped by no one. We can run and hide from it…but it is going to happen to each of us…and I am thinking that in our Western society, we tend to run from it with all that we have. Because we are so busy running, we fail to live in the moment. We are running from our own mortality. And why do we fear what will happen eventually? Perhaps if we resisted it less, we could live the present in a more fuller sense. We would not be running, but we would be living in the NOW.
I believe that the Loving God has taken my young friend, Shane, into Loving Arms. I think death is not permanent…just another change…into greater becoming.
Footprints of Thoughts 
A very good post. Thank you.
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I was baptized Roman Catholic and spirituality is much a part of who I am…I have come to move away from rules and regulations…more into the Spirit of Jesus and I think Buddhism has helped me immensely — I read Thich Nhat Hahn’s book RECONCILIATION last summer…and it gave me great peace and encouragement, and since have been a participant at the Mindfulness Center. It is a Buddhist center, where people meet and help me to develop the ideas of Thich Nhat Hahn more deeply for me. I see Jesus and Buddha as twins! SMILE Thank you for visiting my post and for your comment! I was hoping for clarity…and it helps me to write when I discover something new and deep.
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Methinks I need to look at Buddhism in more depth.
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Hi Ray, I have found it to be a great compliment to Christianity. Perhaps the austerity of the Catholic faith—for me, with the German community I was raised in, it seemed that I received so many negative messages. I believe that Jesus was not that way—the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, are so much more positive for me! and I find the centering aspect of Buddhist meditation takes me to that core of my being, where I can be at peace with God. I think you can practice any faith, and still participate in Buddhism. For me, the important thing is to keep a balance in all of my thinking…I do not like to be fanatical about religions…or about my beliefs. Extremes always lead to problems…at least that is how I experience it. In any case, if you do decide to explore Buddhism, Thich Nhat Hahn, a Vietnamese Buddhist, seems to have a balanced approach…and you can actually find free lectures by him online. Happy journey!
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Thank you. Much appreciated.
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Shunryu Suzuki and Alan Watts have written excellent and easy-to-understand books on Buddhism.
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thank you for the references! and your visit!
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Thank you for introducing me to Shane and to the young lady with MS. Life is a bewildering contradiction. In the end, love is bittersweet. But we must thank the Great I AM for the ride.
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Shane was a wonderful young man and wrote with such passion, creativity and insight!
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One of the sad facts about this life is its continuous changing, but then, when you see how much cruelty and evil exists on this planet, the fact that nothing is permanent becomes a happy feature of life.
Death is just the beginning, and this life is a preparation for the real journey. Sufferings will follow us in the real journey if we get there unprepared, if we don’t learn to love and to be kind in this life. For Shane I believe a splendid journey has just begun, thanks for letting us know about him and his blog.
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My condolence to Shane and her family 😦
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Sometimes, life deals us with so much unpleasantness we cannot even begin to make sens out of it. But if only we pause to think and reflect we realise that at the same time, life does a balancing act. The cards are balanced and the meaning is suddenly clear. The unpleasantness becomes bearable, even if not pleasant.
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dear Celestine, yes…a balancing act indeed…and we have to keep moving forward! living in the present…living in the NOW…and not give up on life
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Great post! I love Buddah,s teaching on suffering. I believe this is purgatory and heaven awaits. There is not enough joy in this life.
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