Buddhism and the Suffering of the World
Jeroen
Not all those who wander are lostNetherlands Veteran
A man once asked an old Buddhist monk:
"How can I allow myself to feel peace or happiness when the world is full of suffering, injustice, pain and chaos?"
The monk looked at him calmly and asked:
"If your house was dark...
Would you refuse to light a candle
Because the whole world is not illuminated yet?”
The man stood still.
The monk continued:
"The suffering of the world is real.
But if you completely destroy your own peace,
You create yet another exhausted and hopeless person.”
The man replied:
"But isn't being happy selfish when others suffer?"
The monk smiled softly.
"A drowned man cannot save another drowning man.
Peaceful people heal more than broken people consumed by despair.”
Then the monk pointed to a pond nearby.
“If the water is disturbed, it cannot reflect clearly.
But when it gets quiet, everything becomes visible.”
He looked back at the man and said:
"The same goes for the mind.
A restless mind reacts with fear, anger and hopelessness.
A calm mind responds with wisdom, compassion and clarity.”
The man lowered his head and whispered:
“But the world still feels so heavy.”
The monk nodded.
“Yes.
And that's why your peace is even more important.”
Then he added softly:
"Don't carry the pain of the whole world in one heart.
Instead...
Be nice where you are.
Help where you can.
Speak softly.
Reduce the suffering around you, even in small ways.
A single candle cannot take away all darkness...
But it still changes the room it enters.”
In Buddhism, happiness is not ignoring suffering.
It's learning how to stay compassion
Without letting the suffering of the world completely destroy your mind.
The monk smiled one last time and said:
"Protect your inner peace.
The world needs more calm hearts, no more broken minds.”
Tashi deleck.
Comments
Well the two wings of the path are wisdom and compassion. We need both to fly.
I assume this is in response to my Buddhist Epistemology thread? Correct me if I'm wrong but what I think you're saying is that thinking about things disturbs your peace of mind?
Seeing as many of the great teachers are also articulate and informed I wouldn't say that the two are mutually exclusive. The whole field of Buddhist epistemology was created by great lamas of the past.
We all have differing dispositions and emphasize certain aspects of the path more than others.
No it wasn’t a reply to anything, purely coincidence… it came to me via my cousin, who also has a spiritual leaning, and I quite liked it, as it’s an answer to a commonly-held criticism of Buddhism, and thought it was worth reposting.
Ah yes, that seeking inner peace is too self absorbed and neglects the suffering of the world. Thich Naht Hahn tells that story about the person that stays calm on the boat helps save everyone else.