SUFFERING
Suffering and Happiness Are One
Change the way you see suffering in your life, and your life will change.
Happiness does not exist in a vacuum — away from any kind of suffering. Rather, happiness is intertwined with suffering.
To complain about or try to avoid all kind of suffering will only bring more suffering.
But to “acknowledge, embrace, and understand our suffering” brings nothing but happiness.
For as long as there is happiness in your life, there will also be suffering — and vice versa. The true spiritual master sees both as one, and learns to reap the most from each.
Below are some verses that echo this profound truth, as written by the late spiritual master Thich Nhat Hanh in his book, “No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering.”
Happiness and suffering are two sides of the same coin. When you realize this, you will no longer suffer as deeply anymore.
The art of happiness is also the art of suffering well. When we learn to acknowledge, embrace, and understand our suffering, we suffer much less. Not only that, but we’re also able to go further and transform our suffering into understanding, compassion, and joy for ourselves and for others.
One of the most difficult things for us to accept is that there is no realm where there’s only happiness and there’s no suffering. This doesn’t mean that we should despair. Suffering can be transformed. As soon as we open our mouth to say “suffering,” we know that the opposite of suffering is already there as well. Where there is suffering, there is happiness.
If we focus exclusively on pursuing happiness, we may regard suffering as something to be ignored or resisted. We think of it as something that gets in the way of happiness. But the art of happiness is also and at the same time the art of knowing how to suffer well. If we know how to use our suffering, we can transform it and suffer much less. Knowing how to suffer well is essential to realizing true happiness.
If we can learn to see and skillfully engage with both the presence of happiness and the presence of suffering, we will go in the direction of enjoying life more. Every day we go a little farther in that direction, and eventually we realize that suffering and happiness are not two separate things.
Cold air can be painful if you aren’t wearing enough warm clothes. But when you’re feeling overheated or you’re walking outside with proper clothing, the bracing sensation of cold air can be a source of feeling joy and aliveness. Suffering is not some kind of external, objective source of oppression and pain. There might be things that cause you to suffer, such as loud music or bright lights, which bring other people joy. There are things that bring you joy that annoy other people. The rainy day that ruins your plans for a picnic is a boon for the farmer whose field is parched.
Happiness is possible right now, today — but happiness cannot be without suffering. Some people think that in order to be happy they must avoid all suffering, and so they are constantly vigilant, constantly worrying. They end up sacrificing all their spontaneity, freedom, and joy. This is not correct. If you can recognize and accept your pain without running away from it, you will discover that although pain is there, joy can also be there at the same time.
The way to suffer well and be happy is to stay in touch with what is actually going on; in doing so, you will gain liberating insights into the true nature of suffering and of joy.
Suffering and Happiness Are One: Thich Nhat Hanh’s Wisdom on Suffering – Najim Mostamand