What's the root cause of suffering?

[Consept]

I'd say it is resistance, you can suffer experience but that is just a reaction to the experience. For example if you lost control of your car and veered off the road and let's say no damage was done, you most likely would suffer that as you wouldn't want it to be happening. Whereas you may actively pay for a ride on a roller-coaster which has the same if not a more scary experience, however you enjoy this experience as there is no resistance and to some extent you're in control of the situation. 

So there should be a distinction made between painful experiences and suffering of these experiences. Resistance I feel, is something quite unique to humans in that theyre able to mentally conceive a different reality, there is also a belief that we can in some way control this reality. Another example is if someone close to you dies there will be a natural grief that occurs, you are not in control of this, it will come and go. What causes long term suffering is a non-acceptance or resistance to this grief, often you'll here 'so and so just can't let it go'. So if you break it down there's a tension in the body which is an attempt to control the grief which of course does the opposite and causes pain and suffering 

[cookiemonster]

4 minutes ago, Consept said:

Another example is if someone close to you dies there will be a natural grief that occurs, you are not in control of this, it will come and go. What causes long term suffering is a non-acceptance or resistance to this grief, often you'll here 'so and so just can't let it go'. So if you break it down there's a tension in the body which is an attempt to control the grief which of course does the opposite and causes pain and suffering 

 

I think resistance can be broken down into smaller components.

You mentioned it yourself with 'so and so just can't let it go' which implies a lack of freedom (to let go), which can be broken down again into ignorance, simply because 'so and so does not know how to let go'.

[Consept]

34 minutes ago, cookiemonster said:

 

I think resistance can be broken down into smaller components.

You mentioned it yourself with 'so and so just can't let it go' which implies a lack of freedom (to let go), which can be broken down again into ignorance, simply because 'so and so does not know how to let go'.

Yeah definitely, I was going to go into it but I thought the post might go on too long. But you're right there are many factors of why someone can't let go and the person may not even be aware of them. This could be due to upbringing, unhelpful information, not being taught healthy mindsets, many, many things, which it's important to learn awareness in general and why things like meditation and mindfulness can help 

[ivankiss]

The root cause of suffering is suffering.

[blankisomeone]

36 minutes ago, ivankiss said:

The root cause of suffering is suffering.

Brilliant. Very very well said

[Adrian325]

5 hours ago, mandyjw said:

Why yes, it's the wall I made for myself and named Someone here.  

That was good

[Adrian325]

The mind creates suffering. There is no self just the illusion of one. There's only the Infinite field of consciousness that you can actually see and feel because you are IT haha shits crazy son 

[Someone here]

7 hours ago, Nahm said:

Got a reference / resource on that?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Noble_Truths

 

10 hours ago, cookiemonster said:

 

Because if it's not a problem then it's not suffering.

For example, BDSM is not suffering. Torture is.

I kinda see your point. 

[Mu_]

12 hours ago, Someone here said:

The Buddha said it's "Desire ". 

What do you think? 

Many things could be said here.  For starters you could look at this from the Buddha's angle and gain a great deal of understanding, growth and balance.  But this is just one angle on the matter so to say.  Suffering is also not a problem with a root, and in fact is a source of growth so to say and isn't a inherent problem.

Another interesting angle is, There is no root cause of suffering.  That's a to simplistic way of "thinking your looking at a real subject".  It may seem like there is something called "suffering", and that it has a root cause or that all sufferings come from a particular source.  But again, try your best to poll enough people/things to see what suffering is to them.  You'll soon find out that no one agrees, leaving you with a word in your head that has no objective agreed on meaning, and there for no meaning to the word "suffering".

This may lead to a better asking of the question such as, why does the feeling of stuff that that doesn't feel good sometimes happen.....  A lot less charged of a question without so much spiritual and intellectual human baggage or human sensitivity to it, no?  And perhaps less interesting to even ask or find out when phrased this way.... maybe it just does sometimes happen, like water splashes when splashed.

All that said, sometimes its best just to feel the suffering you feel like is there or is majorly impacting you and feel it and really just know, understand, and feel the pain, and at other times, its just imaginary hilarious bullshit that wastes ones time....  Again, not a simple subject.

[Someone here]

33 minutes ago, Mu_ said:

This may lead to a better asking of the question such as, why does the feeling of stuff that that doesn't feel good sometimes happen.....  A lot less charged of a question without so much spiritual and intellectual human baggage or human sensitivity to it, no?  And perhaps less interesting to even ask or find out when phrased this way.... maybe it just does sometimes happen, like water splashes when splashed.

@Mu_ that was good. I get what  your saying. 

Edited June 16, 2021 by Someone here

[Mannyb]

I

[Mason Riggle]

Desire and Suffering are two sides of the same coin. What do we desire? We desire not to suffer.  What is suffering? That which we do not desire. 

Would you desire to eat if you didn't suffer hunger pain? 

"There will always be suffering, but we must not suffer over the suffering." ~ Alan Watts 
 

[Victor van Rijn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r4uoY0Wq_g

The root of all suffering is not desire, but lack - Bentinho Massaro

[The Buddha]

On 15/6/2021 at 4:46 PM, Someone here said:

The Buddha said it's "Desire ". 

What do you think? 

The Buddha says: Not loving suffering causes suffering.

Love suffering and that's all. End of the game.

[Intraplanetary]

1 hour ago, The Buddha said:

Love suffering and that's all. End of the game.

like this 

[Shin]

Last time I had a veing in my foot stuck (happens often) I just accepted fully the pain,

Guess what, there was just sensations but not pain, not really.

That's not much pain but I guess you can extrapolate that to anything, even being eaten alive

[Carl-Richard]

Trying to be something you're not.

[Willie]

Given the axiom that life is suffering, the root cause is God. Not God in any confined religious context, but infinite consciousness.

[Cireeric]

Suffering = the self trying to survive

[Someone here]

7 hours ago, The Buddha said:

Love suffering and that's all. End of the game.

How? This goes against our survival instinct.