Understanding Suffering

Opening Reflections:

He who by his might looked even over the waters
Which held power and generated the sacrificial fire
He who alone is God to whom shall we offer our sacrifice? (The Rig Veda)
If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be
placed on the scales!
It would surely outweigh the sands of the seas (Job 6:2-3)
So, do not fear, for I am with you,  do not be dismayed, for I am you God. (Isaiah 41:10)

Scripture Reading:

Life is mostly suffering: old age is suffering, sickness is suffering,

and dying is suffering; wanting to have something I cannot have is suffering,

wanting to escape from what I do not like is suffering, and 

having to part with what I like is suffering.

All this is caused by a single root- desire. (Biddulph & Flynn, 1988)

Moment of Reflection: 

Scripture Reading:

1Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,

who walk according to the law of the Lord.

2Blessed are they who keep his statutes

and seek him with all their heart.

3They do nothing wrong;

they walk in his ways.

4You have laid down precepts

that are to be fully obeyed.

5Oh, that my ways were steadfast

in obeying your decrees!

6Then I would not be put to shame

when I consider all your commands.

7I will praise you with an upright heart

as I learn your righteous laws. (Psalm 119: 1-7)

Moment of Reflection

Reflection

In the time of the Buddha, a woman named Kisagotami suffered the 

death of her only child. Unable to accept it, she ran from person

to person, seeking medicine to restore her child to life. The Buddha

was said to have such a medicine.

Kisagotami went to the Buddha, paid homage, and asked, 

"Can you make a medicine that will restore my child?"

"I know of such a medicine," the Buddha replied. "But, in order to make it 

I must have certain ingredients."

Relieved, the woman asked, "What ingredients do you require?"

"Bring me a handful of mustard seed," said the Buddha.

The woman promised to procure it for him, but as she was leaving, 

he added, "I require the mustard seed be taken from a household where

no child, spouse, parent, or servant has died."

The woman agreed and began going from house to house in search of the 

mustard seed. At each house the people agreed to give her the  seed,

but when she asked them if anyone had died in that household, she could find

no home where death had not visited- in one house a daughter, in another 

a servant, in others a husband, or parent had died.

Kisagotami was not able to find a home free from the suffering of death.

Seeing she was not alone in her grief, the mother let go of her child's

lifeless body and returned to the Buddha, who said with great compassion,

"You thought that you alone had lost a son; the law of death

is that among all living creatures there is no permanence." (Dalai Lama, 1998)

Memory Verse for Today:

So, do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed,

for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you,

I will uphold you with my righteous hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

Closing Prayer:

Loving Father, help me to guard my inclinations. 

May I be able to appreciate that though I may be restless from ambition,

I also may be restless through discontent. 

Correct my life, that my desires may meet the true demands of my soul.

Strengthen me with the power of calmness, that "I may go softly all my years" even though I

walk through bitterness of sorrow and suffering. Amen.

***

Biddulph, Desmond and Flynn, Darcy. Teachings of the Buddha: The Wisdom of the Dharma, From the Pali Canon to the Sutras. London: Duncan Baird Publishers, 1988.

The Holy Bible(NIV). Colorado Springs, CO: The International Bible Society, 1984.

Dalai Lama and Cutler, Howard. The Art of Happiness. New York: The Penguin Group, 1998.

"Prayers for strength and comfort." Accessed November 14, 2012. http://www.prayer-and-prayers.info/prayers-for-strength/prayer-for-strength-and-calm.htm.