The Spiritual Guide Called Suffering

In Gampopa’s Oral Advice: Precious Garland of the Supreme Path, Gampopa said, “Suffering is the cause for developing renunciation.” These words express the idea that, as a dharma practitioner on the path of genuine dharma, suffering is not a bad thing because when we are suffering, we have many opportunities to apply the dharma.

We all experience so much suffering every day. Some of our suffering is physical suffering—we may be getting old and experiencing a decline in our physical health. We may get woken up at night by back pain, shoulder pain, or leg pain. We may also have a chronic health condition or a disease, which not only causes us physical discomfort and pain but also causes anxiety and fear in ourselves and our loved ones. In addition to physical suffering, we also face emotional suffering. Once an emotional pattern starts, we tend to get totally wrapped up in it such that it is hard to think of anything else. On top of this, we also experience mental suffering. It can be especially painful when we encounter situations that seem unjust and are hard to accept. For example, upon learning that a loved one is seriously ill, we might feel angry and unwilling to accept the news.

When we are unable to accept emotional or mental suffering, it can turn into physical suffering. For example, when we experience a great emotional shock, we may literally become sick. Likewise, when we suffer physically, we often get emotionally upset and mentally unstable. We might become frustrated, angry, or depressed by a certain situation, illness, or injury. This massive pile of suffering, where additional suffering heaps itself upon suffering we are already experiencing, is called “the suffering of suffering.” Even when it seems like we are about to hit the breaking point with our suffering, suffering never stops piling up. This doesn’t have to be discouraging. If we know how to use all of these myriad sufferings as a cause to connect with dharma, our suffering can have a wondrous quality. Every one of these sufferings can be the cause of renunciation.

If we are able to see suffering from the perspective of a dharma practitioner, we can lose some of our feelings of frustration or anguish toward this life. Often when we are suffering, all we want is to get rid of it as soon as possible. Gampopa’s words can lessen how intensely we dislike the experience of suffering. After all, disliking the experience of suffering only intensifies the experience that is already making us miserable.

Gampopa also said, “Suffering is the cause for developing certainty. Therefore, we can see suffering as the spiritual guide.” To be able to do this requires a lot of mental training. Here again, certainty refers to renunciation—certainty in the nature of samsara is the source of all dharma practice. Because suffering brings us to renunciation, which helps us follow the path of dharma, our suffering is as essential and paramount as our spiritual teacher.

Our renunciation must be extremely deep for us to be able to see the experience of suffering as a spiritual teacher. Many practitioners have shallow renunciation because they are tired of the life they are living and want to find something that will make them feel a little bit better. This kind of renunciation is like being in a bubble bath. All the bubbles on the surface of the water are fragile and short-lived. We need strong renunciation to stick with the path of genuine dharma, otherwise our spiritual endeavor will pop like a bubble, and we will lose our way and stray from the path.

As Buddhist practitioners, we need to realize that samsara is a miserable place to be. We each need to be able to say, “Although it is difficult, I cannot blame this on anyone. I cannot blame my suffering and unhappiness on my family, spouse, boss, friends, community, spiritual teacher, dharma brothers and sisters, and so on. Whatever suffering I’m experiencing is created by my own self-attachment.” This is how we treat suffering as a spiritual teacher and use it to eradicate our own afflictive emotions through the application of mind training (Tib. lojong) practice. To be able to eradicate this formidable cause, we need to put dharma first in everything we do.

Gampopa also said, “Happiness and joy are the root of samsara. Reduce attachment to happiness and joy because they are demons that make obstacles to accomplishing the dharma.” Happiness is the root of samsara because we want it so much, and we are so attached to it. Many times in the lojong teachings we are told to take suffering to the path. But here we are also being instructed to take happiness to the path because it creates so many obstacles for our practice. It is extremely difficult to take happiness to the path because we want it so much. We don’t even perceive it as a problem.

This has been the case for Buddhist practitioners for ages. Things are difficult, so we practice. Things get better, and we forget the dharma. When things are better, we do not want to sit on the cushion. When things are better, we do not want to enter the shrine room. Our attachment to this “better samsara” is the cause of future suffering. We will inevitably fall back into the deep ocean of samsara, and our suffering will once again be vivid and intense. We will finally realize that we have forgotten the dharma and try to pick it back up. This cycle happens all over the world to modern practitioners—it is called “on again, off again” practice.

When things are better, we do not want to enter the shrine room. Our attachment to this “better samsara” is the cause of future suffering. We will inevitably fall back into the deep ocean of samsara, and our suffering will once again be vivid and intense.

Some of us have been doing this on again, off again dharma practice for twenty or thirty years—some for even longer. Nothing improves internally for us because we are still chasing after happiness and lack true renunciation. It can be helpful to remember that having things go our way harms us as a practitioner. We are better off facing the adversity of samsara and deepening our renunciation.

When things are going well, don’t forget the dharma! In Tibet we say, “That’s the time you need to tighten your belt.” When we are hungry and don’t have enough to eat, we need to tighten our belt and have the discipline to get through it. If we think we need discipline when things are rough, we need even more discipline when things are going well. Maybe life is the best it has even been—our job is going well, family relationships are harmonious, and our lover feels like our soulmate. On one hand, it is not our fault that we want to take a break from practice when things are going well. Who wants to sit on the cushion and face our own internal drama? But if we gain certainty in the suffering of samsara, realizing that our present happiness is just like a poisonous fruit, we can do it. We can remind ourselves, “It doesn’t matter what circumstances or situation I am facing right now; it is still samsara.” Remember that fire is hot. It burns. No matter what we touch in samsara, it will burn us. That’s the nature of the life we have. We need to see this and accept it.

The great masters I met and connected with during my life really taught me this. They smiled when they saw changes happening in life, even very difficult ones. They spoke of being imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution in Tibet, saying, “Mao? Oh yes, we experienced that. Compared with that time, this situation I’m facing now is okay. It is the nature of samsara.” They trained their minds and emotions to automatically improve their renunciation. Gampopa also said, “Obstacles are the cause for applying the dharma.” How wonderful it would be if we could see all of the obstacles and enemies in life as our lama and immediately work on our dharma practice. If we could all think in this way, the world would be emptied of ordinary beings and full of buddhas.

◆

From The Flowing River of Dharma © 2025 by Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO. www.shambhala.com