Pathos Is The Path To Enlightenment

Pathos (Greek): empathy for suffering, ‘what befalls one’ (ie karma).

In Buddhism, the recognition that suffering and the cause of suffering is seen as a catalyst for change. This is important to understand, because if we don’t acknowledge suffering – feeling ill-at-ease in this broken world – we wouldn’t seek change. Becoming a Buddhist, or joining any religion to feel different to others is a poor view. That’s just joining a club.

Sitting in a cafe watching people, we can see that they’re uncomfortable, trying to validate their existence by filling up mental space. Until enlightenment we will all suffer from the three poisons of desire, aversion and indifference. Any subtle suffering is our teacher, and provides the energy to transcend this worldly affair, this theatre of tragedy.

Most of us merely put up with life until death.

Waking up is as rare as a blind turtle coming to the surface of an ocean once every hundred years and sticking its head through a rubber ring. When we understand this, we will look more closely at the quality of our thinking and actions.

We shouldn’t waste the opportunity of being consciously awake now, because the ideal moment may not be so readily available in the future.