Dear Runt,
Again I feel compelled to reply to you (Ding ding seconds out round 245!)
There are two forces acting a person: pleasure and pain. Pleasure drags us forward. (We seek to attain it) Sufferings push people from behind. (We run away from them)
This is a very effective system. It compells man to find lasting solutions to his problems.
Sufferings are sent to us by God for the exact purpose of making us realise that it is our own desire recieve that causes these problems in the first place. What we call correction. (Tikkun in Hebrew) One day we run away from our egoism that causes harm and run towards true pleasure - total adhesion with God.
Interestingly you make reference to human rights groups ect ect. But what good have they done us ? Have they rectified the worlds problems ? Have they put a stop to genocide, war and human rights abuses ? Since before or after the holocuast ? ANSWER - A BIG FAT NO!!!!!!
Look around to us today we now have the threat of Al-Qaeda, Bush and Blair invading any old place they see fit providing it's got enough oil and a plausable excuse to invade it, Palestians and Isaraelis again locked together like two spent swimmers who choke their art. *(Ithought you might like this Shakesperian line!) As I said in another post tell me a generation that hasn't seen a war ? There is none!
We kabbalists have a duty to spread this wisdom to as many people as possible in order to put a stop once and for all to humanitys suffering. We are already extremely late in our mission but we are trying. This wisdom will lead to a whole new existence for mankind. To join the party please visit
www.kabbalah.info
Believe it or not, there IS a purpose to suffering:
Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism all regard suffering as an inevitable if not necessary element of human life, and they each even go so far as to perceive a possible purpose to suffering. In all three traditions suffering is believed to play a part in the liberation of an individual from the imperfection of human existence. It is believed that through suffering, and only suffering, are Nirvana and the Kingdom of Heaven attainable. Unfortunately, the average population finds itself so caught up in dealing with the never-ending struggles and tribulations of daily life that few people take the time to think that perhaps their misery has a purpose. It is difficult if not impossible to see the purpose of suffering when such misery destroys ones faith, hope, and joy. It is even more difficult for people to view suffering as a creation of God. After all, He is supposed to represent creation and suffering is, to put it quite simply, a destructive force. Though from a religious point of view suffering brings one closer to God, in times of misery the exact opposite is also true. In times of misery people are far more likely to abandon their religion than to become more involved in it. The concept of Nirvana as an escape from suffering is nice to think about, but not many people are able to truly achieve this state. Another obvious reason for humanitys inability to see suffering as necessary is that they cannot understand why this so called just and loving God would allow His children to experience so much pain. In order for them to endure their suffering they need more immediate reasons to believe that suffering has its uses than the ones presented by religion. The reasons that can be found are threefold: suffering can serve as a warning, as a lesson, and through these lessons and warnings can lead to a greater feeling of responsibility to others.
The warnings humanity receives from suffering can be of both a physical and emotional nature. Physical suffering can alert people to danger, but it also has the added benefit of reminding us that we are alive. In the words of Tennessee Williams, Don't look forward to the day you stop suffering, because when it comes you'll know you're dead. At times the absence of pain is more fearful than the pain itself; it could mean you are paralized, or dead. Suffering serves another purpose as well. The promise of mental suffering is what keeps people fearing the law. A criminal who is oblivious to the realities of prison life need not fear breaking into a store or murdering someone. Thus does suffering go hand and hand with the human conscience and the knowledge of good and evil. Imagine a world populated by people who could make wrong choices without knowing that their actions are capable of causing pain. No one is more dangerous than the liar, thief, killer, or even sadist who walks the world unaware of the harm he is doing to himself and to those around him.
Some of our suffering is, of course, the direct result of our own actions: something that we have done wrong or unwisely. Thus if we flout the physical laws in the world and step in front of a moving vehicle, we must expect to get hurt; similarly, if we go against the moral and social laws set before us and act dishonestly, we should not be shocked if we are punished when our crime is discovered. Suffering can teach lessons to a society as well as an individual. The immeasurable suffering of the Holocaust taught the world that something had to be done to prevent such a thing from ever happening again. Thus suffering exists to serve as a lesson as well as a warning.
Suffering helps us to know not only ourselves but also one another. Through suffering we can come to k now our own hearts, to test the limits of our faith, and then reach out with these emotions to interact positively (or negatively) with others. Our capacity for emotions such as love, mercy, anger, envy, and pride can remain hidden until they are roused by circumstances that test the strength of our character. Natural disasters and times of crisis have a way of bringing out these emotions and subsequently bringing the human population together. Ironically, those who suffer find themselves in a position to comfort others. After experiencing our own suffering we are instilled with a sense of responsibility to help alleviate the pain of others. It is though this concept that we find former drug abusers assisting addicts in their struggle to give up drugs, or ex-gangsters touring schools to help high school students understand why violence is wrong. An excellent example is found in the aftermath of September 11, when suddenly such movements as March For Peace, sprang up in our communities, and the world gathered to comfort one other (then ruined the moment few months later by deciding to bomb the hell out of one another--stupid humans). Tragedies that occur as a result of hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, riots, plague, and accidents have a remarkable way of bringing us to our senses. After the Holocaust, movements concerning human rights and crimes against humanity arose to solve the problems that had not been dealt with until the horrible reality of the Holocaust brought them to head. Clearly, suffering is necessary to force us to know ourselves and thus make the move to knowing and helping others.
A person who is beginning to sense the suffering of life is, at the same time, beginning to awaken to deeper realities, truer realities. For suffering smashes to pieces the complacency of our normal fictions about reality, and forces us to come alive in a special senseto see carefully, to feel deeply, to touch ourselves and our worlds in ways we have heretofore avoided... Suffering is the first grace. In a special sense, suffering is almost a time of rejoicing, for it marks the birth of creative insight. (Ken Wilbur, A Skeptic's Guide To The Twelve Steps, p 12.) Thus does suffering have some positive aspects that until pointed out remained hidden. One need not delve in the mysticism of both Eastern and Western religions to understand th
