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Quote by Will Durant

“as soon as want and suffering permit rest to a man, ennui is at once so near that he necessarily requires diversion," —i. e., more suffering. Even if the socialist Utopia were attained, innumerable evils would be left, because some of them —like strife — are essential to life; and if every evil were removed, and strife were altogether ended, boredom would become as intolerable as pain.”

Quote by Will Durant

Book:The Story of Philosophy
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The Story of Philosophy

This book provides an accessible and engaging narrative of the key philosophers and philosophical movements throughout history, offering insights into their ideas and their impact on society. more

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Will Durant
Will Durant

Will Durant was an American historian, philosopher, and writer, best known for his 'The Story of Civilization' series. His works delve into the development of human civilization, covering multiple civilizations from ancient times to the modern era. Durant is praised for his extensive reading and profound historical insight. more

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“Later Siddhartha was to recount how the most crucial incident of his childhood occurred when he was nine. In the spring he was taken to the ploughing festival. This was a very important day for the Shakya people who were agriculturalists. On this day, the ploughing season began. The king, Siddhartha's father, would ceremonially cut the first furrow with a special plough. It was the occasion for a great spring festival and everybody was celebrating. Siddhartha was taken along by his nurse maids to watch his father perform the all important symbolic act of making the first cut in the ground. As Siddhartha watched, what this sensitive child saw was the beautiful earth being cut open: cut open in order that the people might grow crops and so live; cut open just as, perhaps, he knew that his mother had been cut open to give him life. He saw insects turned up by the plough, ejected from their homes. He saw worms cut into pieces. He saw the birds descend and eat the little creatures squirming on the broken soil. He saw that in this cutting there was much suffering. He felt the suffering himself. He felt a great urge to remove himself from this painful spectacle. He slipped away from his nurse maids and went to sit under a tree. Later they came looking for him and found that he had gone into a deep state of concentration. As he reflected upon what he had witnessed he was unaware of their approach or of them observing him. This was the first time, he entered into the kind of intense rapture we call samadhi. So Siddhartha grew up with a deep concern about the meaning of suffering in his heart. He knew that he was alive because his mother had died. He knew that people were only able to feed at the expense of the cutting of the earth. He felt the unavoidability of much suffering acutely. He went out from the palace and he saw people who were sick and he learned how nobody is immune to sickness. He saw how people grow old and how nobody is able to avert doing so if they live long. And if they do not live, then they die and this too is an affliction, both for the person who dies and for those who grieve. Siddhartha was certainly sensitive enough to grieve. The great mass of suffering in the world seemed to weigh upon him.”

SufferingBuddhismAnimalsDukkha
Book:The Feeling Buddha by David Brazier (24-May-2001) Paperback
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