7/9/2019 – no running, traveling day
In casual manner, the terms pain & suffering are used interchangeably, like “health & fitness.” Truth is that nothing can be further.
Pain is different from suffering just like being fit is different from being healthy. Whether physical or psychological, pains are treatable with medical interventions. That is not the case with suffering.
In spite of its causes, suffering is purely subjective. Many of which are self inflicted due to the transitory nature of our human conditions (e.g. relationship, wealth, etc.). You know – nothing lasts forever. This is what Buddha called Impermanence, and how we choose to react to it is totally within our control.
As the Japanese writer & marathoner, Haruki Murakami eloquently put it, “pain is inevitable. [but] Suffering is optional.”
What is your definition of suffering?
Running with Buddha 