Why do people suffer? The answer was in the obvious

Why must people suffer just by being alive?

A young man was living a wealthy life.

He lived without any hardships.

He was raised as a prince in a small village at the southern foot of the Himalayas, but he realized that status, honor, and wealth could not bring happiness.

Upon learning this, the young man found living to be unbearable.

To overcome that suffering, he abandoned his home and status and set out on a journey.

Even though he had a wife and child, he left them behind and departed.

I think some of you may know who I am talking about by now.

His name is Siddhartha.

This story is about the obvious law of birth, aging, sickness, and death, which is a life that everyone must go through.

Eventually, as you age, you will struggle with the pain of illness, and death awaits at the end of it.

The young man who learned this could no longer find meaning in life itself.

From then on, he spent about six years believing that the answer lay in refining his mind rather than his body, and he entered into deep meditation under a large tree.

There, after battling desire, delusion, sleepiness, and fear, he attained enlightenment.

He acquired the means to overcome the suffering of life.

After that, he dedicated his life to missionary work, teaching his disciples, and quietly closed his life.

This is the life of the Buddha, whom I deeply revere.

From the perspective of modern values, the choice to abandon family and status to go on a journey might be difficult to understand.

However, birth, aging, sickness, and death are laws that people cannot avoid.

If you think that your life and habits after knowing this are proportional to the length of your life, that is not necessarily the case.

When I was a child, I never thought about such things, nor did I have any room to know them, as I went about my days.

It was only after I turned thirty that I began to understand.

With what kind of feelings do you spend your days?

Life does not go the way you want it to.

When you are young, you feel like you will be healthy forever.

You think your loved ones will always be by your side.

Your work, too.

Your health, too.

Your family, too.

You even feel that tomorrow coming is something to be taken for granted.

However, in reality, there is nothing at all that can be taken for granted.

Waking up in the morning.

Being able to walk on your own two feet.

Being able to eat.

Having people to laugh with.

These are all miracles of the "just for today" variety.miracles.

Having lived for sixty-four years myself, I have experienced many partings.

There were times when I lost my job.

There were days when I suffered from illness and thought about ending my life.

I felt that there was no future for me back then.

There was a time when I thought so too.

However, looking back now, suffering was not something given only to me.

Everyone, in their own life, lives carrying the law of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

Therefore, there is no need to compare.

That person looks happy.

Only that person is blessed.

Even if it looks that way, that person surely has suffering that others cannot see.

That is precisely why we can be kind to others.

That is precisely why we can cherish the present moment.

The Buddha said that suffering cannot be eliminated.

However, he taught that we can cultivate a mind that is not controlled by suffering.

I have been saved by this way of thinking many times.

Life does not go as planned.

That is natural.

Growing old is also natural.

Falling ill can also happen.

It is also natural that a parting will come someday.

The moment you accept that, your heart strangely becomes lighter.

People are often not suffering from reality itself, but rather from the thought thatit shouldn't have been like this.

The greater the expectation, the more one is hurt by the gap with reality.

That is precisely why knowing the laws of the obvious is not about giving up on life.

Rather, it is wisdom for living each day of the present with true appreciation.

Today only happens once.

Please meet the people you want to see.

Please tell the people you want to thank that you are grateful.

If you see a beautiful sunset, please stop and take it in.

Please cherish the time you can spend laughing with your family.

Life may seem long, but it is truly short.

That is why I try not to take every day for granted as the obvious.

Waking up.

Being able to eat.

Being able to walk.

Being able to write.

Having someone read what I write.

I believe all of these are miracles.

If you, who are reading this, are suffering from something and are tired of a life that does not go as you wish, please remember just one thing.

You are not the only one who suffers.

Everyone lives within the same laws of life.

That is precisely why people can support one another.

That is precisely why people can be compassionate.

And I believe that it is precisely that kindness that enriches our lives.

I do not think I have found the answer to life.

Even so, there is one thing I can say.

The "ordinary"was never actually ordinary.

From the day I realized that, I have been able to live each day a little more carefully.

If you had time to look up at the sky today, I think that alone makes writing this piece worthwhile.

[With gratitude, I would like to introduce the articles of the creators]

From here on, I would like to introduce them in no particular order, with my gratitude.

Thank you for the wonderful prompts and for the encounters with articles that remain in my heart.

Photo & philosophy donchan