Comment by Noaidi

The first of the four noble truths set fourth by the Buddha:

The truth of dukkha: Recognizing that suffering is a fundamental part of existence

They even call Joy “hidden suffering”. Because whenever the thing is that gives us joy, if we become attached to it and it is taken away then we have suffering.

And the Christians believe that the suffering of Christ was needed to forgive everyone of their sins.

So they both view suffering as an important aspect of life. Something to be used for learning and understanding the human condition.

But the buddhist and the Christians believe that you can escape what you would think of a state of constant suffering through religious practices. It’s the faith the American slaves had in Christ that got them through their state of living hell. And we’ve even seen a Buddhist light themselves on fire to protest the war in Vietnam. So I’m sorry, but I can’t look upon suffering as something that’s negative and I accept it as part of life and just as I can learn things from joy and I can learn things from suffering, and they are both the same size of the coin and equally as valuable.