Why do we suffer?
We suffer when we resist life. We suffer when we believe life should be different. We suffer when we think there is something wrong with life that needs to be changed or fixed. Being in a position to judge in that way requires separation from what is being judged, and only egocentric conditioning believes itself to be separate from life. As we see through the illusion of separation we raliize there is no separate self, no alternative reality in which life is different, no other choice, and our suffering falls away. Only egocentricity suffers. You will hear a voice in you insist that it does not want to suffer, but we quickly discover that is not so when we try to end the suffering. You can end suffering in many ways. Then, watch how resistance arises. Listen to the internal voices telling you, "No, you dont want to do that." "All im doing is helping you not to suffer," they explain. But you will never end the suffering of egocentricity. Egocentricity IS suffering. The only way to end suffering is to see through the process that keeps us believing in our separateness from all that is. Suffering only exists because old age, sickness, and death are inescapable. One last thought.... Suffering is we want what we dont get, arent saisfied with what we do get, are separated from those or that which we love, and are forced to endure those and that which we do not love. Suffering basically comes down to NOT GETTING WHAT WE WANT! The process of suffering is. When we dont get what we want, we are miserable. We ask ourselves, "So what do I do?" First, we pay attention to the voice that asks that question. We pay attention to what it is that we want. We pay attention to the experience of feeling miserable when we dont get what we want. We notice and question our beliefs, including the assumption that our problems will be solved by DOING. In that process of noticing and questioning, our attitude changes. We no longer take life so personally. In short, we shift our focus from clinging to the content of our suffering to observing the process. In that shift, we have ceased to suffer. I guess the big question here is.... IS SUFFERING OPTIONAL?