Why can’t the world be a peaceful place, without suffering?

by Vic Shayne
author
The Self is a Belief — the idea that causes suffering

Life is suffering. No doubt about it. This is why the Buddha made this statement the first of his Noble Truths. But the question, which he explored and which others down through time have explored, is: Why is there suffering and where does suffering come from? If you find the answer and come to see beyond it then you will also understand why our world is so full of suffering and why it does not change.

Who is the sufferer?
Who suffers? The question can be answered simply: It is the sense of self that suffers. This self is created when the mind and brain are conditioned psychologically from information that we take in from the earliest age from parents, authority figures, culture, religion, teachers, and so on. All of their information creates an idea of who we think we are. All of the thoughts create an identification with the body and all that it is associated with. Since we believe we are a body then all of the troubles we face as bodies with brains cause us suffering, and this suffering is generated because we desire to be safe, well-fed, housed, entertained, and satisfied in myriad ways. When our desires are not met then we suffer. We suffer from the conditions we place on the world and people around us, which is a world that we really cannot control.

Suffering is here to stay
Considering all of the above, suffering seems to be the one thing that continuously pushes people to find out if there is more to life than meets the senses. If suffering leads one to discover that the self is only an illusion made out of an accretion of thoughts then the suffering ends. On the other hand there are many who do want their lives to be over, so they commit suicide. But it may be argued that this does not end the suffering, it merely ends the body. The body is not the source of suffering; it is the mind that creates the suffering.

What someone does about suffering is as individualistic as each person. Some put up with the suffering, some try to find the source of the suffering, some kill themselves to end the suffering, some go insane, and most people simply try to distract themselves from the suffering with forms of entertainment, indulgences, addictions, and so on.

Suffering is generated by the self
When you understand that suffering is due to the self, the way the self develops and how it exists only by selfishness, then it’s easy to see why the world is full of people who create and perpetuate suffering. And the result of all this is the kind of world that we have, which is one without peace and kindness as its natural and normal state. It’s always been this way. The self, or a group of selfs, create destruction. Since the beginning of time more than 200,000,000 people have died in warfare. That’s a lot of suffering to experience and it’s a lot of suffering that people have caused!

The question now is: What are you doing personally to attend to the suffering? and What are you motivated to do about your own suffering, and why? Ultimately this is your journey and no one else’s.