I have often heard that you must suffer?

Question

pain to know joy, you must experience saddness to know happiness, is there any evidence to support this or is this something just assumed?

Answer 1

Everyday there is evidence all around you. Yin and yang, male and female, black and white, each has a counter part which gives balance. One needs the other, pain must have joy or we would suffer without end, joy must have pain or we would not appreciate the fleeting moments of joy we do get. Pain is suffering, suffering is life, we yearn to be reunited with our universe, to escape the lessons of life which are wrapped in pain, suffering and sorrow. When a loved one passes away we are racked with pain, and yet it is the joyful memories we remember to give us comfort.

Answer 2

~ The Four Noble Truths comprise the essence of Buddha's teachings, though they leave much left unexplained. They are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. More simply put, suffering exists; it has a cause; it has an end; and it has a cause to bring about its end. The notion of suffering is not intended to convey a negative world view, but rather, a pragmatic perspective that deals with the world as it is, and attempts to rectify it. The concept of pleasure is not denied, but acknowledged as fleeting. Pursuit of pleasure can only continue what is ultimately an unquenchable thirst. The same logic belies an understanding of happiness. In the end, only aging, sickness, and death are certain and unavoidable.~

Answer 3

Sometimes after bad times you can appreciate things more, and suffering can give you a deeper richer life, in a sense. In general, though I'd say that you do not have to know the contrast between sadness and happiness to know happiness. These things are not polar. One does not negate the other, nor is it a prerequisite to the other.

Answer 4

Well, yes. Someone who has gone without will not appreciate things when they are given to them. For instance, I or my parents could not afford a college education, but appreciated it more when I saved and went to college on my own accord. A friend of mine, however got his college paid for by his grandparents, an apartment, and had a free car & insurance (so he had no job, just school) and completely took it for granted and dropped out. I would have killed to have everything paid for, but since he knew nothing other than having things paid for him, he didnt appreciate it. Thus, you can't really appreciate TRUE joy have you not suffered. I don't believe it is assumed at all.

Answer 5

I believe that is all true. How would you know what joy was if you didn't first experience sorrow, or what love was if you never experienced hate? I know in my own life, I appreciate the good in my life so much because of all the bad that I've been through. It's part of life and how we learn I guess.

((((((TTC))))))

Answer 6

According to the ancient Vedic wisdom there are always 3 kinds of miseries to the jiva soul. (That's us) Miseries caused by the mind or the body. (apparent) miseries caused by other living beings, such as insects, people, animals, on and on. and miseries caused by the demi gods (the empowered beings controlling the material world. (Such as earth quakes, extreme heat and cold. too much rain or not enough, tornadoes, surnames, fires, floods, all natural disasters. Those who don't know they are suffering are considered to be in ignorance and asleep. When one begins to wake up they see the futility of this world and all the suffering around them. When they become more spiritually advanced they know the purpose of human life and take up the process to end all suffering. Self realization (bhakti Yoga) is the process of waking up to ones highest self and ending all suffering. But if one does not know they are suffering how can one desire to get out of their misery? In case you want to know how to end all suffering read The Science of Self Realization by Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada.

Answer 7

People probably like to pretend that there is a good reason for things like this as it gives it a positive tint and then it doesn't feel like they suffered for nothing.

You could always to try and gain from something bad by taking advantage of something good that came out of it (if you can).

This life is not practical!

Answer 8

I read about a study they did on people who have traumatic things happen to them in their lives (like ending up in a wheelchair) vs those who have great things happen. The study said that people who are "generally happy" before the traumatic thing will still be "generally happy" after a period of adjustment. And people who were "generally unhappy" before something great changed their life, will eventually fall back into being "generally unhappy" in spite of it.

But now I can't find it on google to put into my source box here. (after all how do you search for that? "happy unhappy wheelchair" or what...)

Answer 9

i think its just assumed, but its kinda true, like when you in a relationship one ends bad and the person you marry is amazing so you suffered to get to that person, there are thing that show it could be true but i dont think that evidence of it

Answer 10

Thats absurd. If it were true, you would never be able to expeience anything because the first time you expierence either, you would have no frame of reference by which to judge what you were feeling.