Life is Suffering, So Choose It
3 min readMay 13, 2021
Four “noble truths” underpin Buddhist philosophy. The first has always struck me with the most force. It has a cutting quality. Strikes the bell of truth cleanly.
“Life is suffering.”
The idea is straightforward. Everything that lives, suffers — it’s simply the natural state of existence for all living things. As natural as breathing. It’s part of the deal and should be expected. (Though the remaining three noble truths are all about eliminating suffering, oddly enough.)
