Noticing suffering is not as easy as we think. The word suffering, is a word for ‘being’ not happy. We tend to think, “Well, I’m not unhappy all the time, so I’m not suffering all the time.”

 Maybe we just do not notice our suffering? We also tend to think, “Well, one cannot be happy all the time!”

 That is exactly the point, our true nature ‘is’ happiness, it is there all the time. Once we acknowledge and recognise this, we realise that anything that distracts us from our true nature, is causing some sort of suffering, on some level.

 The object is not to eliminate the suffering, just recognise it. This recognition then serves as a reminder, that we have moved away from our true nature, and because we are still mainly stuck in consciousness (mind) we have to accept that this is our state at the moment.

 When it is said, “Suffering of some sort of level,” we might think that if I do not notice it, it is not happening…not so. Suffering can be on a very subtle hardly noticed level. Equally the more sensitive we get the more we notice suffering…especially in others.

 We sometimes get caught in the trap of thinking, “Well I’m all right, so everything is alright.” Well, it may be alright for you (at this moment) but not for others. This brings us to compassion, we quite often argue with others, and do not note their suffering.

 So suffering is when we move out of essence, into the mind or the physical, and as this is part of being sentient we just have to accept it, but not make a big deal of it. It is a bitter sweet relationship we go through, a sort of joy and sadness, it’s the way things are while we are here.

 We only have to look to see all this for ourselves. We are not totally at ease (resting in inner peace) all the time. This ‘being’ not at ease to a ‘sensitive’ will be called suffering.

That ‘sensitive’ will look for the cause of this suffering. Then that ‘sensitive will want find a way to do something about suffering. Finally the ‘sensitive’ will do something about that suffering.

So the next question would be: What are you going to do about this suffering, if you notice it?

But first one has to recognise one ‘is’ suffering, to be able to ‘want’ to do something about that suffering. Then one has to understand the cause of that suffering.

Remember, everyone who is sentient is suffering, as we are not enlightened…yet!

The whole process is going from the very coarse to coarse to refined to very refined to …….!

Yes, this is a buddhist view, it is called the four noble truths, which one can observe for oneself.

You don’t have to be buddhist to be happy!

1. Recognising suffering.

2. Recognising the cause of suffering.

3. Recognising a path away from suffering.

4. Treading that path.

All the best,

Tony