The problem of suffering

To seriously consider via positiva as an option for the spiritual life brings up two immediate problems: firstly, how does one deal with suffering, and secondly, where are the teachers and teachings of this path? The question of suffering has to be dealt with first, and it is not an easy one. It is of course an ancient problem, and the Gnostics, Manichaeans and some early Christians simply assumed that the world was 'fallen' or corrupt. The doctrine of original sin implies that from birth we are destined to suffer. It is partly these pessimistic views that have led to the abandonment of traditional religion, as men and women in the modern era looked at their natural instincts, particularly the sexual, and found them quite acceptable. At the same time there is a blind belief in 'all the suffering in the world', leading to the question: if God is so good, then how does He allow this suffering? In other words for the well-fed Westerner the old religions are doubly wrong : 'original sin' is clearly an inappropriate concept, and so is the idea of a loving God.

'via positiva is hard in the beginning but easy in the end. Via negativa is easy in the beginning but hard in the end. Via negativa has appeal because we are more inclined to take note of loss than gain, so we more easily identify with suffering. In the end however it becomes difficult because our natural instincts are profoundly in favour of life'.

To even contemplate the via positiva then we need to set out a different view of suffering. Firstly it is useful to consider it in two parts: pain and loss. There is no doubt that life involves physical, emotional and mental pain in different degrees, yet it seems that no-one is prepared to look dispassionately at the proportions of our lives spent in pain compared to non-pain. It is actually a very small proportion as an average if one takes all the people who have ever lived, but this detached perspective is of course an inappropriate response when we actually encounter pain, particularly in others. This kind of pain is associated with disease and is due to the integrity of the organism (taken as a physical, emotional and mental whole) coming under attack. Pain indicates dis-integration of one kind or another, and in the extreme case leads to death, i.e. complete disintegration. The natural response as a human being is to do whatever is possible for oneself and others to alleviate pain. For oneself as a spiritual seeker however pain is also a challenge and a teacher, and even with a minimum of experience of meditation one can find ways to face it that are constructive for spiritual growth.

Loss is a different matter. Again to speak lightly of another person's loss is inappropriate, but for the spiritual seeker loss has a particular challenge and opportunity. We identify with so much of our immediate world, our loved ones and our possessions, that loss always appears to diminish one. What is rarely taken into account is that our gains are all gifts from existence itself, even if we believe that we have worked hard for them. After all where did the means and the will for that hard work arise? Did we somehow pay in some kind of cosmic currency for our life on this planet? Did we book up ahead at great expense? Hardly. Everything that we take for granted is actually a gift, so every loss merely takes us back a little nearer to where we started.

This unusual view is the key to via positiva. Another way of looking at it is that a true gratitude to creation marks the spiritual emphasis of this path. However, the view of life as 'wrong' in some way or other, or that our existence is irretrievably tainted with suffering, is deeply entrenched. The problem of suffering is one of the most profound in the spiritual life, and it takes hard work and a mature soul to grapple with it successfully.

To go a little deeper into via positiva we first need to take a closer look at Nature and our place in it as humans: half animal, half divine.

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