I Can Remove One of the Two Kinds of Suffering in the World (KP-28)

E.E Cummings on being yourself

Life Lesson

Someone asked Buddha,” You say you can remove suffering. But first, look at yourself. You are getting old, And you yourself fall ill sometimes and you suffer as a result. How can you talk about removing other people’s suffering?”

Buddha replied,” Suppose you are hit by an arrow. You will feel the pain, right? Now let’s say you are hit by a second arrow. You feel some pain again. Both arrows caused you suffering. I can remove the pain and suffering caused by the second arrow.”

The person was confused and asked,” What does that mean? How?”

Buddha replied, “Suppose the first arrow is that you fell ill. And you are feeling weakness in the body. This is the suffering caused by the first arrow. Now, the second arrow is nothing but how you respond to the first arrow. Are you going to feel miserable about it? Or will you go about your life indifferently? Or will you welcome the illness with open arms?”

The way you react to the first arrow determines the extent of your suffering caused by the second arrow. The first arrow may be inevitable, such as aging or illness. However, you have the power to choose how you respond to it.

If you let it define and defeat you, you are welcoming the second arrow of suffering into your life. If, on the other hand, you accept the first arrow and adapt to the situation, making appropriate changes and keeping a positive outlook, then you can minimize your suffering.

The psychological suffering that we endure as a result of our response to the events happening with us and around us is completely within our control.

Let me give you an example. Suppose I get amputated in a car accident. This is the first arrow.

Now I am feeling devastated and miserable. This is the second arrow which is of my own making.

Even after becoming differently-abled, I can become a Paralympian, I can be a role model to others by still following my dreams. This is also one of the ways I can respond to the first arrow.

So, let’s work towards minimizing (and eventually removing) the suffering caused by the second arrow, shall we?

Quote

E.E. Cummings on being yourself

E.E. Cummings by Edward Weston (Photograph courtesy of the Center for Creative Photography)

A poet is somebody who feels, and who expresses his feelings through words.

This may sound easy. It isn’t.

A lot of people think or believe or know they feel — but that’s thinking or believing or knowing; not feeling. And poetry is feeling — not knowing or believing or thinking.

Almost anybody can learn to think or believe or know, but not a single human being can be taught to feel. Why? Because whenever you think or you believe or you know, you’re a lot of other people: but the moment you feel, you’re nobody-but-yourself.

To be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.