Essay on To Live Is to Suffer - a Hindu/Buddhist Perspective

Works Cited Crestwell Jr., John T., Pastor, Is Buddhism Practical in Western Culture? Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://www.dmuuc.org/minister/John/Buddhism.html McIntyre, Ray, A Basis for a Buddhist Ethic. Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://buddhist-beliefs.suite101.com/article.cfm/a_basis_for_a_buddhist_ethic Molloy, Michael (2008) Experiencing the World’s Religions: Tradition Challenge, and Change. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Sarma, P. Ravi, MD. Hindus: How does Hinduism explain suffering? Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://en.allexperts.com/q/Hindus-946/Hinduism-explain-suffering.htm Sin and Suffering. (1994, December). Hinduism Today. Retrieved July 21, 2008, from†¦show more content†¦Short-term suffering (paying the monthly household bills, for example) isn’t that painful and can be (usually) dealt with in short order. However, short-term suffering tends to happen repeatedly in one’s life, and thus must be dealt with repeatedly. Long-term suffering, on the other hand, long-term suffering tends to be more serious in nature. Furthermore, long-term suffering usually is more difficult to deal with. As an personal example, I offer my present job situation. I have been repeatedly unemployed since moving to the Pittsburgh area eight years ago. I have only been able to find short-term temporary and contract jobs in my present area of expertise (Finance Accounting). I have suffered greatly in the economic sense (eviction and utility shutoffs) and in the emotional sense (nervousness and the inability of my fiancà ©e and me to plan for ou r wedding). This suffering has made me realize that I need to change my profession to one that has more job opportunities and pays better wages (Computer Science). And it only took me eight years to figure this out! Maybe the Hindu belief system that tells us that we (the immortal soul) is imprinted with our past actions. 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