"When I state the proposition clearly that life is suffering and that the purpose of life is not happiness, (my students) actually experience that as a great relief. And the reason I think they experience that as a great relief is that they already know it. Even if they wouldn't necessarily articulate that, their experience has taught them that life is complex and tragic and difficult.
And the problem with the public portrayal of the ideal state of humanness as happiness is that it makes all of these young people feel ashamed of their own suffering. They feel that if they're suffering, and if they find their life tragic in its essence, then that means that there's something wrong with them, and instantly that makes it impossible for them to communicate anything real about their own tragedy.
... Suffering is not some unfortunate thing that disrupts an otherwise perfect existence, or that suffering is an accident that may befall some people. ... suffering is at the heart of being a human."
"... because life involves suffering, if your philosophy is shallow and meaningless, when you suffer, you'll become resentful, and hostile, and self-critical, and then you'll become cruel and destructive.
Not only is there a necessity for your own mental health to forthrightly confront the deepest questions of life, but if you don't, then you remain a danger to yourself, and more importantly to others."
"... because life involves suffering, if your philosophy is shallow and meaningless, when you suffer, you'll become resentful, and hostile, and self-critical, and then you'll become cruel and destructive.
Not only is there a necessity for your own mental health to forthrightly confront the deepest questions of life, but if you don't, then you remain a danger to yourself, and more importantly to others."
"Say No To Happiness" Frank Faulk's (~54 min) documentary on CBC Radio's "Tapestry" May 27, 2012
http://www.cbc.ca/tapestry/
http://www.cbc.ca/tapestry/
No comments:
Post a Comment