On Human Suffering

Thomas à Kempis

So long as we live in the world, we cannot be without trouble and trial. ?Wherefore it is written in Job, "The life of man upon the earth is a trial." And therefore, each of us should give heed concerning trials. ?No one is so perfect that he never has troubles, nor can we ever be wholly free from them.

Yet, notwithstanding, troubles turn significantly to our profit, even though they are great and hard to bear; through them, we are humbled, purified, and instructed.????All Saints have passed through much tribulation and have profited thereby. ?And they who did not endure troubles became undisciplined and fell away. ?There is no position so sacred, no place so secret, that it is without adversities.

No one is wholly free from suffering so long as he lives because we have the root of suffering within ourselves, in that we are born with desire and craving. ?One sorrow passes, and another cometh. ?Many who seek to fly from suffering fall yet more deeply into it. ?By flight alone, we cannot overcome, but by endurance and genuine humility, we are made stronger.

The person who only resists outwardly and pulls not up by the root shall profit little; indeed, suffering will return to him more quickly and be the more terrible. ?Little by little, through patience, you will overcome by the help of God rather than by your strength of will. ?Amid the suffering, seek counsel; and deal not harshly with one who is suffering, but comfort and strengthen him as you would have done unto thyself.

The beginning of all trouble is the want of trust in God; for even as a ship without a helm is tossed about by the waves, so is a man who is careless and infirm of purpose, now on this side, now on that. ?As fire strengthens iron, so does suffering strengthen the man. ?Often we know not what strength we have; suffering reveals to us what we are. ?Nevertheless, we must watch, especially in the beginning of troubles, for the mind is more easily mastered at the outset when troubles are met at the door as soon as it has knocked. ?

A simple suggestion first comes to mind, then a strong imagination follows, and afterward, pain. ?And so, little by little, suffering enters altogether because it was not resisted initially. And the longer you delay dealing with the affliction, the weaker you grow.

Some men suffer more than others, and some are sorely tried their whole life long. ?Some there are who suffer but lightly, according to God's wisdom and justice who knows the character and circumstances of men and orders all things for their welfare.

Therefore we ought not to despair when we suffer, but the more fervently should cry unto God, that He will vouchsafe to help us in all our tribulation; and that He will, as St. Paul said, with the suffering make a way to escape that we may be able to bear it.?Therefore, let us humble ourselves in all trouble.

In troubles, a man is proved, what progress he has made on the Path, and therein his virtues shine through. ?Nor is it a great thing if a man be devout and zealous so long as he suffers no affliction, but if he behaves patiently in times of adversity, then is there hope of significant progress. ?

Why are you so disquieted because things did not go as you wished and desired? ?Who is it that gets everything according to his will? ?Neither I, nor you, nor any man upon the earth. No man is free from trouble or anguish, though he were King or Pope. ?Many foolish and unstable men say, "See what a prosperous life that man has, how rich and how great he is, how powerful, how exalted." But lift your eyes to the good things of heaven, and you shall see that all these worldly things are nothing. ?They are utterly uncertain and wearisome because they are never possessed without care and fear. ?The happiness of man lies not in the abundance of temporal things but in a moderate portion that suffices him. ?The more a man desires to be spiritual, the better the present life becomes because he understands and sees the defects of the material world. ?To eat, drink, watch, sleep, to rest, labor, and to be subject to the other necessities of nature is the destiny of all men in the material world.

The material man is heavily burdened with the body's necessities. ?Wherefore the prophet devoutly prayed to be freed from them, saying, "Deliver me from my necessities, O Lord." But woe to the man who knows not the limits of the material world, for it will only bring disappointment.???To such a degree, some cling to it and care nothing for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Oh, foolish are those that lies buried deep in worldly things.??They sadly find out too late how worthless that which they loved. ?The saints held as nothing material things, or those which flourished in this life, but their whole hope and affection aspired to the things beyond this world. ?Their fundamental desire was borne to everlasting and invisible things, lest they should be drawn downwards by the love of things visible.

Lose not, brother and sister, your progress on the Spiritual Path. ?There is yet time; the hour is not past. ?Arise, begin this moment, and say, "Now is the time to do: now is the time to fight, now is the proper time." When you are troubled, then is the time when you are the nearest liberation. ?So long as we carry these frail bodies with us, we cannot live without weariness and trouble. ?Therefore we are patient and wait for mercy.

David Langiulli

What the good Monk says here is entirely consistent with one of Buddhism's central teachings.?That teaching is that suffering (dukkha) is a mark of human existence.?As Job says: "The life of man upon the earth is a trial."?And, as the good Monk says: "We have the root of suffering within ourselves."

Who among us has not suffered??The question is not whether we will suffer (we will); it's how we react to and handle suffering.

It would appear that we've learned nothing since antiquity.?It might be worth revisiting one of the wisdom texts from approximately the 6th century BC.

In chapter 1 of the Book of Job, ?we are introduced to Job as a righteous man, blessed with wealth, sons, and daughters. ?Satan (in conversation with God) ?accuses Job of being pious only because God has materially blessed him and asserts that if God were to take away everything that Job has, he would surely curse God.

God gives Satan permission to take Job's wealth and kill his children and servants, but Job nonetheless praises God: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." In chapter 2, God further allows Satan to afflict Job's body with boils. ?Job sits in ashes, and his wife prompts him to "curse God, and die", but Job answers: "Shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil?"

In chapter 3, "instead of cursing God," Job laments the night of his conception and the day of his birth; he longs for death, "but it does not come."

Later in the text, Job moves away from the pious attitude and begins to berate God for the disproportionate wrath against him.?He protests his innocence, lists the principles he has lived by and demands that God answer him.

Toward the end of the Book, God speaks from a whirlwind and neither explains Job's suffering, nor defends divine justice, nor enters into the courtroom confrontation that Job has demanded, nor responds to his claim of innocence.

Instead, God asserts His divine wisdom and omnipotence: "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world?"

With renewed humility, Job confesses God's power and his (Job's) lack of knowledge "of things beyond me which I know not." ?He declares, "I retract and repent."

In the end, God then restores Job to health, riches, and family and lives to see his children to the fourth generation.

I find it extraordinarily reassuring that three great wisdom traditions (Judaism, Buddhism, and Christianity) all teach that suffering is a necessary condition for being human.?

And let us not forget one of the essential teachings from Christianity.?That is: if God can incarnate in a man and that man can suffer and die on a cross, then who are we not to suffer?

Thomas à Kempis?was a medieval monk and author of?The Imitation of Christ.

David Langiulli?is an Author, Philosopher, and Executive Coach. This essay is an excerpt from his forthcoming book:?Wisdom from the Middle Ages for Living in Modern Times.