Reversing the Attitude toward Suffering

  It seems that by habit, people tend to think of suffering as something that is undesirable or to be avoided at all costs. I think, for instance, that suffering is the obstacle to liberation, without considering that perhaps suffering itself is a form of awakening if it is treated as such. Santideva has this to say about suffering in the chapter "The Perfection of Patience", in Way of the Bodhisattva:

11. For loved ones and for oneself, one does not desire suffering, contempt, verbal abuse, or disgrace; but for an enemy, it is the opposite. (p.62)

This passage seems rather straightforward, almost to the point of common sense. But then the question becomes, what does Santideva say about wishing friends wellness and wanting to inflict suffering on an enemy? Rather than exhorting his audience to love the enemy, Santideva chooses a different kind of tactic, namely, reversing the equation of suffering with something that is evil or to be avoided at all costs. Hence, in line 12 he remarks:

Happiness is obtained with great difficulty, whereas suffering occurs easily. Only through suffering is there release from the cycle of existence. Therefore, mind, be strong! (ibid)

It's interesting that Santideva equates happiness with 'great difficulty', thus reversing the common idea that happiness is somehow 'easy' or smooth. If suffering is easily at hand, why not use the suffering of daily life to release from the cycle of existence? Santideva suggests that suffering is a kind of short-cut to ending the cycle of birth and death, because it can take a person to the point of no longer desiring existence in such an attached or clinging manner. If one's friends or family only enjoyed pleasurable moments, they would not have such an 'easy' access to liberation, because happiness only increases one's attachment to life.

Finally, Santideva compares his own suffering in spiritual life to ascetic practitioners, many of whom have appeared to endure greater suffering than himself. In line 13, he remarks:

The devotees of Durga and the people of Kamata needlessly endure the pain of burns, cuts, and the like. Why then am I timid when my aim is liberation? (ibid)

Here, Santideva suggests that many ascetics 'needlessly' endure great amounts of pain, presumably for a low payoff. Why , then, should one be afraid of pain when the true aim is liberating oneself? Wouldn't the goal of liberation be well worth the cost, considering what other practitioners have endured for the sake of much less? To be clear, it looks as though Santideva has a particular bias toward his own school of awakening. However, he points out that suffering could be endured when a person understands its true place in a spiritual practice. To go through suffering is to eventually acclimatize oneself to its presence, and thus to overcome one's fear of suffering itself. Hence, Santideva remarks:

There is nothing whatsoever that remains difficult as one gets used to it. Thus, through habituation with slight pain, even great pain becomes bearable. (p.63)

The real benefit of undergoing pain, according to Santideva, is that it allows people to embrace much bigger experiences, as they grow accustomed to what used to be considered unbearable. Santideva suggests that the more one embraces suffering, the more expansive one's mind and experiences can be. This is surely an encouragement for all people to persevere in their small pains, with the prospect of being able to endure greater ones in the near future.


Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva (selected chapters only). Translated by V. Wallace and A. Wallace. Snow Lion, 1997.  .