Truth is suffering

/ adiscardedplant

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This pleasure is an illusion;
Now it’s with me,
But soon it will be gone;
Suffering may remain alone.

This pleasure is a mask
That I love to wear
In this life’s comedy
That I consciously live.

But I know; I hate though
Life is suffering;
Suffering is truth,
And truth is suffering.

සතුට මිරිඟුවක්

සතුට හුදු මිරිඟුවක්.
මට පෙනී, මට දැනී
මොහොතකින් එය පිට පනී,
දුකම පමණක් ළඟ තබා.

වෙස් මුහුුණක් මේ සතුට
සොම්නසින් මා පළඳිනා,
මේ විකට රංගනයේ
සබුද්ධිකව මා රඟනා.

එහෙත් මම දකිමි
දුකක් මේ ජීවිතය.
විඳවීම සත්‍යයක්
මිහිරි තම විඳවීමක්.

Copyright © Oct. 15, Newton Ranaweera
Image Source: Pixabay

53 thoughts on “Truth is suffering”

  1. Beautifully written with poignant words. Pleasure as a mask for life’s suffering being the truth. But… is there never real pleasure in life but always faked emotions, feelings and thoughts? Or are pleasure and suffering two sides of the same coin?

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    • I think suffering and pleasure are intertwined! I remember reading this poem where happiness was likened to a lightning strike between clouds of despondency! It stuck with me ever since

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      • Thank you so much for this great comment and the analogue for pain and pleasure!! True, they are intertwined, but we could consider their length of time to see what prevails longer. Your quoted example itself is a fine analogue. Accordingly, pleasure is like ‘lightening’ (faster; exists only a mini-second) whereas pain/suffering is like ‘clouds’, which remain around longer.

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      • I guess pain lasts longer than pleasure. But could it be a state of mind as well? May be when we are happier time seems to fleet by but when wallowing in despair everything slows down?

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      • What you say is absolutely true; it could be state of mind, too. Our thought pattern itself is socially constructed. 🙂 Anyway, I have never seen a child birth in which the child smiled or a man with a happy look at the death bed?

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  17. There is great validity to your observation that suffering is truth, i.e. that truth can be extremely painful to bear, and that suffering teaches us profound truths about life.

    Christians would add the following: First, that God is with us in suffering (Matthew 28: 20). We are not abandoned by Him. Second, that suffering is not without purpose, even when that purpose is not obvious to us (Isaiah 48: 10). It refines our character and helps us mature, transforming us into Christ’s image. Indeed, our suffering reflects both Christ’s death and resurrection (2 Corinthians 4: 10). Third, that God will ultimately administer justice for innocent suffering (Genesis 18: 25).

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  25. Thank you so much for this prompt so I can say my personal experiences of suffering! However, my attempt in this verse was not to represent any authentic piece of experience as an example for suffering (and for which there are enough examples in my poetry blog). My intention was to present for discussion about peoples’ attitudes to the concept of suffering. Some deny it, and they promote pleasure, being indulged in physical pleasures. Thank you again. 🙂 🙂

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