Ever Escaping Versus Ever Lasting --A Multidimensional Study on Human Suffering.doc

ever escaping versus ever lasting: a multidimensional study on human sufferingcontentsabstract (english)abstract (chinese)1 introducing the issue - 2 christian perspectives on suffering - 2.1 the origin of human suffering2.2 gods purpose2.3 christian solutions to human suffering2.4 evaluation and enlightenment 3 buddhist perspective on human suffering - 3.1 the four noble truths 3.2 buddhist solutions to human suffering3.3 evaluation and enlightenment 4 psychological perspective on human suffering - 4.1 the general attitude of psychology toward the problem of suffering4.2 the benefits of suffering from a psychological perspective4.3 the road to happiness4.4 evaluation and enlightenment5 modern solutions to this issue - 6 conclusionacknowledgementreferencesabstract: this paper traces the issues of human suffering and their relation to life. it presents various views on human suffering in christian and buddhist perspectives as well as psychological perspectives. in the first part many biblical references are used to justify or explain the meaning of why suffering exists in the world. it also describes that the spiritual value emerges not from the suffering, but from how we perceive the suffering in context to our lives. therefore, a lot of modern solutions to human suffering are provided for people with different beliefs to choose. key words: human suffering, perspective, origin, happiness.摘要 论文探讨了人类的苦难以及它与生活的联系，介绍了基督教和佛教在人类苦难上的不同观点，此外还从心理学角度分析了这个问题。论文的第一部分频繁地参照了圣经来解释世界上为什么会存在苦难。论文还提出了“苦难的精神价值不在于苦难本身，而在于我们如何看待生活中的苦难”的观点。因此，论文中提供了许多解决这个问题的途径，可供有着不同信仰的人们来选择。关键词：人类苦难，观点，起源，幸福chapter 1 introducing the issueone of the great problems and one of the great mysteries of life is the problem of human suffering. there is not a single person who has not had to endure suffering. as we think of the problem of suffering, we recognize that different people give different responses to suffering. some with minor problems of health act as if they have the most serious handicapped situation on earth. others handle serious problems as if they had no problem at all. someone has said, if people had more patience the hospitals wouldnt have so many patients. it is sad to see little things in the way of suffering ruining the lives of so many. this makes us appreciate those whose afflictions are great, yet are cheerful and helpful. we have to cope with the problem of pain and suffering since its reality cannot be denied.for centuries philosophers and theologians have reflected on the existence of suffering and its implications. and many solutions have been attempted. the purpose of their work is to assist different people to seek happiness on the life path. i suppose there is more pain and suffering today than there ever has been on earth-if for no other reason than the fact that there are more people than ever before. not only is there more physical pain, but there is also more emotional and mental pain than there has ever been. therefore, i hit upon the idea for a study on human suffering. in my article, not much attention will be called to penetrate the mystery. instead, i suppose it is of greater significance to approach suffering as mere problem that demands a solution. karl marx once said: philosophers tend to interpret the world in different ways. the point is how to change it.” what we are doing at each moment is to go about solving it if there is really a solution. if not, our goal should be minimizing its negative impacts or giving its strengths into full play.this issue is one of the most essential and complicated problems of human experience, and can be handled in a large variety of ways. limited by the resources available and the capacity of this research, this paper will mainly discuss it in three perspectives, that is, in christian and buddhist perspectives as well as psychological perspectives and offer some modern solutions to it.chapter 2 christian perspectives on sufferingany christian understanding of human suffering draws from a judeo- christian doctrine of creation. in the opening chapters of genesis god presides over creation and repeatedly says that what he has made is good, even very good.1 (genesis 3:31). christianity claims that god is a god of love, and is all powerful, yet suffering is present in the world. although the problem of human suffering is a harsh reality in an imperfect world, the christian is able to establish a framework in making some sense of its existence through his or her faith. from the biblical record, it is evident that much of the human suffering in the world is caused either directly or indirectly through the free-will of humanity.2.1 the origin of human sufferingthe exact timing and process whereby suffering entered the world is controversial amongst christians and tied up with different views on the age of the earth and evolution. all agree that the bible describes how suffering increases when created beings decide to disobey god and ignore his advice. no christians deny the fact that god did create a world free from suffering, hate, death and pain which all exist in the world today. many christians believe that when god initially created the universe there was no suffering in it. many believe that human suffering began in the garden of eden.2 （genesis 3:1-24）. god commanded adam and eve, the first man and woman, while in the garden of eden saying, of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die (genesis 2:16-17). the very fact that god commanded them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil implies that they could eat of it if they desired to go against the command of god. as with adam and eve in the garden, god presents us with the free choice of obedience and blessing on the one hand and disobedience and curse on the other. thus man became free to make choices but has to be responsible for the decisions he makes. all of negative consequences of rebellion against god are caused by abusing free will. as a result of humanitys free-will, some of the suffering in the world is self inflicted; coming as a direct consequence of individuals own personal choices. from the beginning, man has tried to shift the responsibility of his own guilt. adam blamed eve for his sin and eve blamed the serpent but each was accountable for their own sin. when god made man a creature of freedom he opened the door to suffering. it could be no other way. god wants mans love and allegiance but respects his freedom. when god made the universe he made it possible for man to use his freedom to find the good, but this inevitably included also the possibility of evil and suffering. why does man suffer? it is because he, or his ancestors, or his neighbors, have misused their freedom. in some way he has violated some of gods laws and has thus destroyed that which god wished to be perfect and whole. god does want mans love and obedience, because that is what fulfils us and gives us joy, but god also wants us to be able to choose to give them. after all, that is what real love is: love which you freely choose to give. 2.2 gods purposefor god, creation was good not because it was free from suffering, but because it had set up a system that served a purpose. that purpose was to develop a physical and living entity that would worship him. the very nature of the universe helps christians to explain suffering. the whole universe is a system of law and order which has much to do with mans suffering in the world. god had to make the world operate according to certain rules which are very necessary. when man uses gods laws of nature as he ought to use them, he prospers and is happy. when he misuses those laws, he suffers. the law of gravity is a very wonderful and necessary thing, but its misuse can bring death. so it is with the other laws of our universe. perhaps god is disciplining us by making rules and discipline is often painful. the idea of discipline, however, is greater than just punishment or retribution. when god punishes he acts as a loving father who wants to see his children grow to maturity. this might be difficult to accept such a point of view at first, but if we put ourselves in the position of a child it is easier to see. as a child, our parents were wise and powerful beings that we looked up to. but surely if they were so good and powerful they would want me to be happy each and every moment of my childhood life. surely they would want me to have chocolate bars for breakfast, lunch and dinner. surely they would want me to do whatever i want and never be disciplined under any circumstance. naturally we would argue that broccoli and carrots are better for the child than chocolate. discipline helps the child learn how to function safely and respectfully in the world. there is a passage in the letter to the hebrews in which god tells us that he allows us to suffer because of his love for us: for those whom the lord loves he disciplines, and he scourges every son whom he receives. it is for discipline that you endure; god deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? but if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the father of spirits and live? for they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good so that we may share his holiness. all discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” (hebrews 12:6-11).2.3 christian solutions to human sufferingchristianity is the worldview that best addresses suffering. yet others provide some observations that god is growing us in some way, or perhaps we are suffering the consequences of sin in the world. whatever the reason for our suffering, christians can call on their hope. “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of god has been poured out within our hearts through the holy spirit who was given to us “(romes5:5). lets start looking at suffering through the eyes of jehovah as revealed in scripture.one time a sweet lady had lost her husband and was grieved to the point that she was not responding to efforts to console her. the preacher went to see her and found her sitting on the porch embroidering. as he looked at the side of her work that was facing him, he said, my, what a mess. there are so many knots and the design is not pretty at all. the despondent lady quickly countered, but, you are looking at the wrong side! she then turned the work over and handed it to the preacher, saying, this is the side you should be looking at. the preacher said, ah, yes! and thats the way god wants you to look at the death of your husband. turn it over and look at it as he sees it.if a god who is all-wise, as well as all-powerful and all-good, then he must have good reasons for all that he does, whether this regards the blessings of good health and children or the pain of car accidents and natural disasters. in fact, the christian faith was borne out of suffering - jesus himself suffered severely, perhaps even beyond what was necessary for our salvation. the prophet isaiah tags him as a man of sorrows. and as for the suffering of his followers, the bible gives clues as to its purpose, linking it with character development. the book of james says that the testing of our faith through trials develops perseverance, which in turn makes us mature and complete, not lacking anything (james 1:3-4). it is christian belief that man who has no sorrow in his life is immature and it is through the suffering that accompanies hard work that human beings develop physical strength.more significantly, suffering gives christians solidarity with christ. the apostle paul writes, i want to know christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death (phil. 3:10). these similar biblical passages should inform the christians perspective on suffering. and when the reason for some suffering is incomprehensible to christians, they can still trust that god has his good reasons. 2.4 evaluation and enlightenmentit appears that suffering is not incompatible with god. it is shown that god can use it in many ways for the greater good. the debate is not over, however. extreme examples (such as the southeast asian tsunamis) and the suffering of seemingly innocent people are hard to ignore. nevertheless, some benefit can come out of these; common people helped out the tsunami victims in any way they could, and countries that were formerly at odds with each other joined together to supply aid. while suffering can be hard to bear, we can take hope in the fact that god can turn suffering to good.the simple fact is that god did create a world free from suffering, hate, death, and pain. man chose to rebel and bring sin into it, and this corruption still exists today. that pain exists in the world is a fact that cannot be denied, especially by christians. but atheism and agnosticism are not the answer. the best answer is one that provides hope. perhaps god is disciplining us, perhaps he is growing us in some way, or perhaps we are suffering the consequences of sin in the world.chapter 3 buddhist perspective on human sufferingbuddhism is unique among spiritual traditions in its emphasis on psychology. in buddhism the approach of the mind is from the inside. it involves observing what happens, cultivating certain aspects of the mind (such as mindfulness and compassion) and developing a deeper understanding of the roots of suffering. as such its aims and methods are different. the aim is to reduce suffering and change the way one experiences life. its core teachings encourage practitioners to shake off suffering and discover happiness. the core of the buddhist teaching is the four noble truths: there is suffering. there is a cause to suffering. there is an end to suffering. there is a path out of suffering (the noble 8-fold path).3.1 the four noble truthslife means suffering. to live means to suffer, because the human nature is not perfect and neither is the world we live in. there are all kinds of suffering in life: birth, old age, sickness, injury, tiredness, death, fear, frustration, disappointment, and depression, grief, lamentation -all forms of physical and mental suffering. although there are different degrees of suffering and there are also positive experiences in life that we perceive as the opposite of suffering, such as ease, comfort and happiness, life in its totality is imperfect and incomplete, because our world is subject to impermanence. pleasant and happy feelings or conditions in life are not permanent. sooner or later they change. this means we are never able to keep permanently what we strive for, and just as happy moments pass by, we ourselves and our loved ones will pass away one day, too. when they change they may produce pain, suffering, unhappiness or disappointment.the origin of suffering is attachment.the origin of suffering is attachment to transient things and the ignorance thereof. transient things do not only include the physical objects that surround us, but also ideas, and -in a greater sense- all objects of our perception. ignorance is the lack of understanding of how our mind is attached to impermanent things. the reasons for suffering are desire, passion,pursue of wealth and prestige, striving for fame and popularity, or in short: craving and clinging. because the objects of our attachment are transient, their loss is inevitable, thus suffering will necessarily follow. objects of attachment also include the idea of a self which is a delusion, because there is no abiding self. what we call self is just an imagined entity, and we are merely a part of the ceaseless becoming of the universe. the clinging to desire comes from our experience that short-term satisfaction comes from following desire. we ignore the fact that satisfying our desires doesnt bring an end to them. the cessation of suffering is attainable.the cessation of suffering can be attained through nirodha. nirodha means the unmaking of sensual craving and conceptual attachment. the third noble truth expresses the idea that suffering can be ended by attaining dispassion. nirodha extinguishes all forms of clinging and attachment. this means that suffering can be overcome through human activity, simply by removing the cause of suffering. attaining and perfecting dispassion is a process of many levels that ultimately results in the state of nirvana. nirvana means freedom from all worries, troubles, complexes, fabrications and ideas. nirvana is not comprehensible for those who have not attained it. the end of suffering is non-attachment, or letting go of desire or craving. this is the state of nibbana, where greed, hatred and delusion are extinct. freedom from attachments to the five aggregates of attachment is the end of suffering. this freedom is not conditioned by causes, as are the conditioned states: nibbana is the non-attachment to conditioned experience. to understand the unconditioned, we need to see for ourselves that everything that has a nature to be born has a nature to die: that every phenomenon that has a cause is impermanent. by letting go of attachment to desire for conditioned phenomena, d