Completely Eliminating Suffering

Completely eliminating suffering is thought by many to be impossible. It seems beyond our ability to achieve such a condition of life, and so we seek other conditions, sometimes helpful and sometimes harmful. Yet, fundamentally, ending suffering is the significant driver or motivator in the lives of people. The Buddha initially taught the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the Twelve-Link Chain of Causation, as ways to begin to break free of the cycle of suffering. Finally though in the Lotus Sutra, he teaches not only the elimination of suffering but the creation of a life of indestructible joy. The Buddha teaches this is not just something only attainable by a select and rare Buddha but by all people, that all people can become Buddha’s because they already have that condition within their lives.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra