There are topics that are not often discussed, and that really affect our lives. One of those topics is the nature of suffering and its more subtle version, feelings of dissatisfaction and insufficiency in life, and how to transform those experiences to something more wonderful.
On May 30, 2026 I am offering a live webinar: Zen and Buddhism 101: Finding the Source. I will present and we will discuss this topic and others that are closely related. So sign up if you are interested and have not joined for this presentation and conversation in past years, or if you would like a refresher.
PAIN vs. SUFFERING
When a child is vaccinated, they will often cry as a result of feeling terrified of the threat of the needle, and feeling the actual pain of the injection. They suffer due to attributing terrible qualities to the image of the needle and the anticipated pain of the vaccination taking place, and they also feel the actual pain of the vaccination and react to that.
It is their interpretation of the whole event which causes suffering. The suffering shows as crying and for some, desperate attempts to avoid the vaccination.
What is different with adults? Most adults do not get terrified of vaccinations. But the pain is the same for child and adult. What is different is the suffering: the adult does not imagine grave bodily harm from the needle, and knows that the pain of the needle going into the arm is limited in extent and limited in time.
Still, vaccinations are relatively easy to handle: the pain is not much and we as adults know that we are safe. So, what about bigger challenges?
TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT
Taken to a radical extent, what if we could experience the inevitable more significant pains of life, such as physical injuries, serious illnesses, and emotional shocks like loss of a loved one, and not add suffering on top of those pains?
What if we could see all those things, as well as positive experiences, with a much bigger awareness and mindset? With Zen practice, we can start to find that kind of different response to the challenges of life, leading to peace and true freedom.
Suffering is made more common because most of us have not learned deeply enough how to distinguish between that which is a basic experience, such as a vaccination pain, and that which is reactive and adds suffering. Distinguishing between those is good for our happiness and good for our ability to give to others.
We can love deeply and have purpose in life, and yet not be thrown when life brings “good” or “bad” changes, which it always does.
INSUFFICIENCY
In Zen and Buddhism, suffering also has a more subtle meaning, often translated as “insufficiency.” Insufficiency is experienced nearly continuously when we find something lacking. Another word for it is “dissatisfaction.”
Examples include: why is my relationship not better, why am I getting older, why is this friend not more reliable, and why am I not satisfied even with a good partner / spouse in life and a nice home. Not to mention, being alone and lonely, or being financially stressed.
The ultimate insufficiency is “What does all of this matter, I am going to get old and die no matter what!” The discomfort of that focus can lead to pursuing all kinds of distractions such as workaholism, substance abuse, and other addictive behaviors.
If you remember the song, “Is That All There Is?“, or wish to check on it now, I recently looked into the song’s history and was fascinated to learn that it is based directly on the events in a Thomas Mann short story, “Disillusionment”.
Thomas Mann did not offer a solution in that early short story of his, but he did point to aspects of how life can be full of disillusionment if not lived with wisdom. In later works he returned to the question of how to find enduring meaning.
I find it very interesting that a song on this serious topic became a big hit! It shows that there is a need in our world to find a solution to what I consider as life’s biggest question: feelings of suffering and insufficiency.
SOLUTIONS
So, what does all of this add up to? Here are some words I can offer: the solution to suffering and insufficiency is to go deeper in awareness, to find the source of our perceptions and judgments of good and bad, right and wrong, painful and pleasurable. In that penetration into the self, the mind expands and can start to understand the peace and true freedom that is our birthright. Let freedom ring!
How to practice that is discussed in many, many books. A very short version is: do good, avoid doing harm, and purify the mind.
In our life, there is no need to say, “Is That All There Is?” but it requires effort to get to that freedom.
I hope the above helps inspire some new thoughts and interests for you.
