Do You Suffer Much?

[thaibebop]

My score for stress was 10.

I thought it would be worse than that!

[Neeranam]

A score of 4, can't be bad.

[Chickenlegs]

My score was 6 (poor diet, no exercise).

About 25 years ago a Sergeant of mine wrote on my annual report "If this man was any more laid back he would fall over"

No change there then.

C/Legs

[Abandon]

all religion works the same way - they tell you you have a problem (aka suffering, seperation from god, you are going to he11 etc.....) and then magiacally, they say that only they have the solution.

I scored 9

[Nickerelastic]

I scored 10 on the stress test which surprised me........given that some of my posts this forum have been rude and over the top.

[chownah]

'Suffering' is only one translation of the Pali word 'dukkha' and it's not a very good one. More here:

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/...ca1/dukkha.html

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are right about 'suffering' not being adequate so I went to your link and copied these which expand the meaning:

The words of Buddha (of course its been translated..probably many times):

"Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, death is dukkha; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, & despair are dukkha; association with the unbeloved is dukkha; separation from the loved is dukkha; not getting what is wanted is dukkha. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are dukkha."

The words of some other guy:

"Dukkha is:

Disturbance, irritation, dejection, worry, despair, fear, dread, anguish, anxiety; vulnerability, injury, inability, inferiority; sickness, aging, decay of body and faculties, senility; pain/pleasure; excitement/boredom; deprivation/excess; desire/frustration, suppression; longing/aimlessness; hope/hopelessness; effort, activity, striving/repression; loss, want, insufficiency/satiety; love/lovelessness, friendlessness; dislike, aversion/attraction; parenthood/childlessness; submission/rebellion; decision/indecisiveness, vacillation, uncertainty.

— Francis Story in Suffering, in Vol. II of The Three Basic Facts of Existence (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1983)"

So far this thread has covered stress alot...I guess that's the issue that westerners focus on the most. The second list seems pretty thorough...any additions? One thing I've noticed is that since I've lived in Thailand and use the squat toilet and the sprayer I no longer suffer from the five clinging aggregates!

Edited September 15, 2005 by chownah

[bina]

i scored 1!

i guess that comes from working with animals all the time:

i have time to sit and watch them eating and moving around, i do that once a day for an hour, each day, a different set of animals: turtles, goats, donkeys, mara, rabbits, birds etc.... its very calming, and teaches patience no end, to try to catch the nuances among their interactions, especially turtles!

i make sure to sleep 8-10 hours a day if i can

i eat thai food three or four times a day (i weigh 42 kilo)

i am hopelessly lacking ambition enjoy working on my own am completely non competitive aprt from myself

my parents and kids say i am too laid back!!!

i work outdoors no matter what the weather, plenty of exercise that!!

i meditate about 15 minutes a day twice a day

my kids accuse me of being non emotional (israelis love huge displays of emotions and yelling etc), 'cool hearted' and analytical, but thanx to thai influences, i've learned to 'no think too much' and jai yen fits me to a T...

after dealing with israeli beauracracy all my life, nothing phazes me....

no alcohol, no drugs, no discos, no city life and i try to avoid confrontations with my ex, also living on my kibbutz

getting more and more into the concept of buddhism again (when i was a child i developed an interest due to my japanese judo teacher's influence) and seeing things with a bit more clarity lately (could be that i've gone overthe age of 40+ and the dismissal of childish illusions?)

the clarity is that i've recently come to the conclusion, as khun pad thai posted here, that there are more then one option for handling a given situation, even a bad one

But our response to the painful situation may entail our mental suffering, on the one hand, or a full engagement in the situation without rejecting it. From the Buddhist point of view we have more freedom to choose our response than we may realize.

chownah keep up the questing!!!! squat toilets.

[SiamOne]

I scored 5 but I lied on some of them

[Ice Maiden]

I scored 10 on the stress test which surprised me........given that some of my posts this forum have been rude and over the top.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe they are just personality traits or a lot of bad days ranting?

I haven't done the test yet because the link hasn't worked for me yet. But quite a few adults decide young adults can never suffer from stress and the latter. I believe that is false. Considering adults may suffer from different types of stress such as financial and work related problems yes these are a lot more stressful than not being allowed to go to that sleepover at a friends.

But I will say teenage years are a stressful time in ones life with hormones flying all over the place and new situations are faced. Unfortunatley teenagers are subject to annorexia, bulimia, self harm, bullying, drugs and even suicide. In many cases parents don't answer their childs plea for help until the situation becomes too serious.

I hope thats made some people think again.

[camerata]

I think the original question covered only half the story. From the perspective of Buddhism, everything leads to suffering (or "unsatisfactoriness" as it is sometimes translated) because everything is impermanent. For example, wealthy people shouldn't be suffering, but they do because they are worried someone will take away their wealth or that they can't trust the sincerity of new friends, etc. And no matter how rich they are, they'll worry about growing old and getting sick like the rest of us.

What really gets me is how I can thoroughly enjoy some music at first, but after a while I don't want to listen to it and am looking for something new. The mind is always looking for something new and is rarely satisfied with what is has for very long. This is the rather unique Buddhist take on suffering.

[Abandon]

after dealing with israeli beauracracy all my life, nothing phazes me....

nice post bina

While Camerata is quite right, the Buddha also pointed out lots of things that lead to happiness, (Sukha, Sobhana Citta) peace, patience, wisdom loving kindness etc.... Just mentioning it so that no one gets thte idea that Buddhism is all about pain and suffering...

[sadman]

Some stress is not only good, it is necessary to make us perform at an optimum level. However, not too much stress and not for protracted periods, which is where many companies get it wrong, IMHO.

Think of a Formula 1 car tyre - it has to be fully warmed up and under stress to work properly, but too much stress, and it blows out. Humans are the same (although usually with less rubber and a nicer colour).

Many of my friends use hypnotherapy to combat stress, and it seems to work very well. I used to use alcohol, but it really doesn't do you much good. So now I do what I like doing, go to the gym regularly, and drink to enjoy - not to escape.

Not so...Schumies heart/BP hardley even registar a flutter when he is driving.That's why he is so good.Cool, calm collected and a total gripper.

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. I was offering the comparison between a racing car TYRE and a human. Racing drivers are obviousoy a different breed, although I am surprised about his HR/BP - it is common for drivers' HR to stay at around 140 bpm when racing, which is why they need such extraordinary cv fitness.

And I scored 9 on the stress test. This worries me - I am now scoring higher due to this.

[Nam Kao]

I suffered for years (with lady falangs)

[phibunmike]

I think the original question covered only half the story. From the perspective of Buddhism, everything leads to suffering (or "unsatisfactoriness" as it is sometimes translated) because everything is impermanent. For example, wealthy people shouldn't be suffering, but they do because they are worried someone will take away their wealth or that they can't trust the sincerity of new friends, etc. And no matter how rich they are, they'll worry about growing old and getting sick like the rest of us.

Most people have concentrated on stress, which as other posters have pointed out is only one side of dukkha.

The part I don't get is that we we try to earn merit to void rebirth and suffering. Now, I am all for doing good and earning merit, but, despite some minor stress and upsets in my life (as in most people's), I ENJOY life. Given the chance of a second time around, I would say "yes please!".

That, to me, is the confusing aspect and perhaps what the OP was originally getting at ????

[donna]

I have been here for just over 6 years. And I've gotta say that since being here, I am so UNstressed its not funny! At home I worked in IT as a project manager. I came here and worked in tourism, and love it.

At the moment I am in the middle of moving house, and this is meant to be one of the most stressful time of ones life. But I'm not really fussed about it. I have picked up 'mai bpen rai' pretty well, and know that it will all happen when it is meant to happen.

I think that most people get stressed at certain times of their lives, and being over here can be a lonely place if you don't have supportive friends here. Some days I just don't want to see anyone, and this week I watched a movie that made me cry, and I cried for about 2 hours over it! But I'm over it now. I think its pretty normal for people to have a bit of a sook every now and then.

As for life being full of suffering, maybe it is. But its how you deal with that suffering that matters. Some people drink, which may lead to more suffering in the long run. Some people exercise. Some do drugs. Some eat. Some surround themselves with friends.

It doesn't really matter HOW you deal with it, as long as you do.