Something about Buddhism always bugged me.   Of course, it wasn’t Buddhism itself, but what I heard.  What stood out and bugged me was essentially the statement made by the Buddha that, “Life is suffering.”  Not only did I not believe it, I thought the whole of Buddhism revolved around that negative idea.  Rather than look deeper, I resisted the thought as though I could control the Universe and keep suffering away from either myself, or those I love.  Flash forward about 30 years.  Now I not only understand a great deal more about Buddhism, but I also agree that suffering can and does happen every day to scores of people all around the world.  In fact, after a tragedy like what happened at the school in Connecticut or recently in Paris, how is it possible to think for a minute that suffering isn’t real?  Of course, the lesson taught by the Buddha doesn’t stop there.  Instead, the Buddha explained that freedom and peace lie in a space beyond suffering, and that liberation is available to us all. [Read more…]