I don't think I'm very qualified to talk about suffering, as I have led a very pleasant life up to this point and haven't had to go through many trials. But like everyone, I have experienced suffering to some degree.
My current understanding of the whole idea of transcending suffering through acceptance comes down to how much importance you place on this physical life. If this life is all there is, and your physical body is who you are, then any trials or suffering you experience is going to make you feel bad.
But what if you believed instead that this life is just a dream or a game? What if your identity isn't actually that of the human being whose body you have? What if you are actually the being that is having the dream? When you have a bad dream, does it cause you suffering? Unless it's really horrific, you can just forget about it. It doesn't matter, it was just a dream. You can even laugh about it. If you start thinking about this life as a dream, and identify yourself with the dreamer instead of a dream character, then suffering seems to melt away. Any trials you go through seem very trivial.
And if you think that every experience you have is for the enjoyment of the dreamer, then you can even begin to enjoy your suffering. Do you ever play a video game, and when your character dies, you laugh? I do every time. Because games are fun, even when you aren't winning. Well, life is just a game, and you can have fun even if you aren't winning.  |