Happiness and Suffering
Who is God? If he is a benevolent being, why would He let us suffer?
We always ask that question. We always have a mental picture of God with a long beard and white long hair or a fat bald man or an immortal with many feet. We limit Him in the level of our state when he is not.
It is my view that every principle or religion that every person believes in is dictatorial at first but intensive as a person matures. It is a fact that we are not aware of the world around us at the time we were given birth by our mothers but what we have at that moment is our freedom.
With this freedom, we are able to choose our path in life. As we move on in this certain 'path' we chose, we are given principles to follow and in time, witness these principles and teachings. These things help us see this unknown world we live in at a larger perspective. Personally, even if I see numerous beliefs and teachings, they all direct us in one direction. We may never know what will be revealed to us at the end but it is rest assured that we are to see God.
Two of the things that these principles touch would be the topic of happiness hand in hand with suffering. They are presented differently by Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism and Taoism in such a way that it could depict what they really are in our lives.
Happiness, as described in the Webster's, as
a state of well-being and contentment; a pleasurable or satisfying experience. Suffering, on the other hand, is described as a state of submitting or to force to endure a certain situation.
In Buddhism, I have found to realize that we can be happy if we experience suffering, live with suffering. Trying to evade what lies ahead is something unnatural for Buddhism. Happiness cannot be found on the things that makes us smile or comfortable or what pleases the senses. Happiness can be found after enduring suffering. In other words, suffering is the key to eternal happiness, or Nirvana. Despite of all this restraining principles of Buddhism, I can say that Buddhists could be seen as people with "light" persona.
Looking at Hinduism, I found that happiness is ourselves. No one can make us happy but ourselves. It is in the principles of Hinduism that I found strange yet very interesting. Knowing that we make our own happiness, Hinduism points out that it is within us where we will find the goal that we aim for. External factors are relative or in other words, only aids our way of making ourselves happy. It is also mentioned in Hinduism that after enduring happiness and misery, we will find the Supreme Bliss. This belief encourages us to seek and not to sit still. The more you look for it, the closer you will get to what you are looking for.
Confucianism is a philosophy that is more realistic than the others. It is a system of virtues, morals that aim for the spiritual welfare of man. Happiness in this case is something spiritual, moral and self-identified. For me, it is through our actions that makes us someone spiritual. I could compare it to Christianity but of course the only difference is that Confucianism's principles are more witnessed than Christianity's concepts.
In Taoism, happiness and suffering are inevitable thus, we have to face the world with a peaceful mind and by doing nothing. Going against the flow of life would only create disharmony in life. It is doing nothing in order to attain the balance once again.
All in all, I could say one thing- these beliefs or philosophies say that life should be taken the way it is. Go with what it has in store and not fight against it. We are all headed in one direction, to the Creator. And even though we believe in numerous number of gods, they all manifest what is beyond our thinking. It is proper to say then that there is something bigger than what we have at our hands. It is this huge thing that drives our lives to places we might not want to face but we have to. For me, this 'force' is God's hands. I believe that in experiencing the most of what He created would mean holding on to what He really did. It is human nature to treasure things that were retrieved after great hardship. To get to the Source, you have to be worthy of it, and savor your journey towards it. Happiness and suffering in all of these beliefs are said to be complimentary to one another and suffering comes first and happiness concludes it all.
The drawing in this entry is my symbolic way of saying that every belief only pertains to one thing- the Source.
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Plugs: Joemz || Atom || Inez || Nico || Jedd ||
Kenneth || Elle || Ianne ||
Rio || Nayomi || Meira ||
Ira || Cid || Lysa ||
Andrea || Ann || Aiar ||
Camille || Holly ||
Alyssa || Cagalli ||
Eloise || Jais || Vaynard ||
Ran || XYRYX || Mark ||
Ranamae || Chels || Emma ||
Mackii || Memesh || Marie ||
Katrin || Jameson
by
LekLek on 11.05.2007 @
21:33
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