why Buddhism? is there suffering we wish to resolve?

WallyB

dear friends

we i first took an interest in buddhism, i was desperate to be free from suffering

if we do not have any suffering we wish to resolve, do we believe buddhism can help us?

can buddhism offer us anything?

if we are not sick, can visiting a doctor offer something?

what do we think?

:-/

federica

I took up Buddhism because it all made so much sense to me, but my initial thought was not any desperation to end suffering.....I hadn't realised that aspect, yet.....

In China a doctor is paid if you are well, and his salary stops if you get sick.....
so sometimes, a call upon a doctor is just for a health check, not because something necessarily ails you.....

WallyB

so sometimes, a call upon a doctor is just for a health check.....

sounds wise...

Dakini

WallyB, what do you think? Hopefully you learned some useful coping skills when you needed Buddhism as a tool to resolve your suffering. Are those skills still useful? Mindfulness and compassion aren't just for personal crises, they're a life practice. Are Buddhist values something you can put down when you don't need them, and pick up again, like a warm jacket to fend off a winter storm? You put it back into storage during spring and summer when you don't need it? Or are they a constant, steady companion that help you lead a more rewarding, balanced, and meaningful life?

Only you know the answer, what's right for you.

WallyB

WallyB, what do you think? Hopefully you learned some useful coping skills when you needed Buddhism as a tool to resolve your suffering. Are those skills still useful? Mindfulness and compassion aren't just for personal crises, they're a life practice. Are Buddhist values something you can put down when you don't need them, and pick up again, like a warm jacket to fend off a winter storm? You put it back into storage during spring and summer when you don't need it? Or are they a constant, steady companion that help you lead a more rewarding, balanced, and meaningful life?

this sounds very intellectual

possibly you need to investigate the nature of suffering more

Dakini

I don't follow you. I was just saying that the answer to your question is individual. Some people, if they're not experiencing suffering, if they're content with their life, may feel Buddhist practice isn't needed. I haven't stated my view here, yet.

person

Suffering can be classified into 3 kinds:

1) The suffering of suffering
These are things like a broken bone, hunger, the obvious types of suffering and pain.

2) The suffering of change
This is how a pleasurable experience changes into suffering. Its hot out so we jump in the cool lake, after some time the pleasure of cooling off turns into the suffering of being cold. A certain song gives us much pleasure but if we had to listen to it for 24 hours straight it would begin to cause pain.

3) All pervasive suffering
This is a subtle level of suffering that occurs simply by possessing the aggregates

So unless one is a liberated being we all possess at least some level of suffering so Buddhism always has something to offer. I believe though that the intent of the OP was a tangible type of suffering that leads most people to seek an answer and leads them to Buddhism. The god realms for example are said to be a worse place for the dharma than the human realm because existence is all pleasure and no pain so there isn't much motivation for dharma practice.

Even as a human there are people who have an easy pain free life and are quite content to live that life out in pleasure and satisfaction. Sorry to be partisan here, but a Buddhism that accepts further lives would still have something to offer to that kind of person.

taiyaki

Most of us are in suffering or waiting around for suffering to occur.

Personally I view practice and study as preventative measures one can take so one isn't so blindsided by suffering.

Also buddhism teaches compassion, ethics and other skills that are useful.

Metta to you.

federica

Back atcha, taiyaki!

SeaOfTranquility

If a person does not see the truth of the 1st Noble Truth, there would probably be no interest in the other Truths as the path to liberation.

You don't have to be desperate, but you do have to be motivated.

Sooner or latter everyone sees the truth of the 1st Noble Truth. Unfortunately, most people don't understand the cause or know of the remedy. Many will do things that actually make matters worse. Like clinging when they should be letting go.

compassionate_warrior

Mindfulness and compassion aren't just for personal crises, they're a life practice. Are Buddhist values a constant, steady companion that help you lead a more rewarding, balanced, and meaningful life?

This is how I feel about it. And, @WallyB, Buddhism isn't just for the challenging times in life. Practitioners I know who are happy with their lives get tremendous satisfaction and inspiration from their practice. It's not only about ending suffering, it's also about inching ever closer to the Grand Prize, Liberation.

Your post sounds like you believe Buddhism is superfluous in good times, please correct me if I read you wrong. The idea that Buddhism believes life is suffering is often discussed here as a common misconception held by non-Buddhists. Buddhism believes in the potential for a life of happiness, contentment, and skillful help to others. My impression is, the more one practices, the closer to bliss one gets.

if we are not sick, can visiting a doctor offer something?

Buddhism isn't triage, it's a code of spiritual values and a methodology for clearing away illusion and reaching one's highest potential.

Telly03

I was watching utube videos on ideas that rang true, and I had not even realized that they were Buddhist based until I started doing some digging. It was refreshing to find a belief that didn't require blind faith to follow, something I was agreeing with before I even knew it had a title.