Alleviating vs Curing Suffering

     "in certain Buddhist circles ... debate about the ultimate usefulness of assuaging temporal suffering is making the rounds. The topic is timely, given the commercialization of spirituality and the spread of the mindfulness movement. Most of us agree that the Buddha meant his paths to be curative rather than palliative. Shouldn't we be shooting for (enlightenment) rather than, say, 'stress reduction'?

     Although it can't magically wake us all up, Great Compassion can intervene by making our various situations just livable enough that we can shift our focus from pain, emotional overload, and warped coping strategies to the self-evident truths of the dharma: goodness, selflessness, and understanding lead to happiness; aggression, selfishness, and ignorance lead to suffering."

       Pamela Gayle White. "Alleviating Suffering. Can Working to Treat Pain Help Us Tackle the Fundamental Causes of Human Distress?" Tricycle, Spring 2015.                                www.tricycle.com

Gaudi Blues