On Suffering

Gautama Buddha has done humanity a great disservice. Of course, the same can be said of most ‘saviors’, great teachers, sometimes known as gurus. Not that it was ever their fault. They spoke the truth. Only later men, too lazy to dig into deeper understanding, or just plain dishonest, either twisted or perverted their teaching to benefit financially, or to gain control over the minds of other people.

So what else is new, you might well ask?

Well, I intend to set the record straight.

The great Avatars had but one, single, purpose in mind, and that was to teach us how to be happy. Aristippus of Cyrene, the student of Socrates was right. He and the Hedonists got it right, though hardly anyone else did.

Show me a single statue of Buddha, which is not replete and elated in smiles. The name Krishna, his predecessor, simply means “pleasure”. “All Pleasure”, to be exact. And Yeshûa, affirmed that: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” If you want to know how to put it into practice, look at Francis of Assisi. There are, of course, other ways.

Just where is the suffering? Where’s the blood, the scourging, fasting, the “giving up”, the sacrifice, the misery, the thousand and one dos and don’ts imposed on the poor, befuddled, muddled, bewildered, disoriented, fazed, stupefied, mixed up, discombobulated sheep of various religions? Poor “believers”. If only they took the trouble to find out the truth behind the purported clarifications, elucidations, interpretations and exegeses of the learned (ever miserable) doctors of theology, and listened to the Masters themselves. If only…

If only… they, too, would be happy.

I wrote a little story (I called it ‘essay’) on, “Spiritual Life”. You’ll find it in Beyond Religion II, on Amazon Kindle. Or in Smashwords. Try to enjoy it, even if it hurts… just a little.