ALONG THE WAY

 

“Hey, What’s up, Are you from here, Where are you from, where are you going, How are you” are the normal daily questions we heard. However, these question help us to reflect and to deepen our state of being human. Only us in relation to others will we encounter them. These are the questions of us being with others, in space and in time.

“Along the way” is a suggested title by a friend of mine. It points to one’s journey, being on the straight way, and the state of one’s being on the way. Maybe there is an intention of choosing this theme but deep down, the essence and the core of it, this evokes the real human life: its miseries and joys, its challenges and opportunities, and its treats and assurances. Yes, we all are along our way; the way we choose or not; the way we decide or not.

I am on my way. That is a fact but do I know the way I am on and the reason I am on? Do I know where I am journeying to? Do I know the people on my way and why they are with me? In what extend, Am I influenced by the people on my journey? And so many questions we can ask concern along the way of life.

A story about a farmer and his son and their donkey. One day a farmer and his son set for a journey to nearest town to sell their donkey. So they left their village joyfully in hope to get some money for their living. While passing to a group of people, they heard people saying,”oohoo how silly you, old man, what is the purpose of having a donkey when you cannot ride on it”. So he asked his son to ride it. But after sometimes he heard people commenting, “this son is very bad child, how come he rides the donkey and lets his father walking. Poor old man”. So the son, felt uneasy and let the father ride the donkey. However, when they passed a village, some villagers told him, “you, old man, the man without pity on the son, why you ride a donkey and leave your son to walk. Old man without heart to the son”. So the old man was so confused, he therefore, asked his son to jump on the donkey and they ride together happily knowing that he did the right thing. But after sometimes riding, passing a group of young men, he heard them saying, “look at the poor donkey, it is almost died because of the lazy man and his boy riding on it in this hot weather. Why they do such bad thing to the donkey. They are very cruel to the poor animal”. Hearing this comment, the farmer and his son jumped down from the donkey and they saw that donkey was tired. So the farmer and his son decided to carry their donkey. They tied the legs of the donkey and tied it to the log of wood and they carried them together. They were satisfied as they crossed a river. While crossing, the donkey smelled the freshness of the river water, so the donkey kicked hard the wood and it dropped down to the river. As the donkey was tied, the donkey was swallowed by the river and died. The farmer and his son went home sadly because of getting nothing.

This farmer and his son was along the way. They had a purpose on the journey but they didn’t achieve it. They were in relation to the others but let the others controlling and influencing their purpose. They didn’t stick together to achieve their goal. It was nice to be along the way but they didn’t prepare mentally and emotionally to encounter silly and bad comments on the journey.

Remember that along the way there are good people that encourage and help our life as well as bad one that stop and destroy our life’s purpose; there are people who can influence us to give up our journey and some will support us to achieve our purpose. So the choice is laying within us; it depends on us on how we respond and react upon the challenges and the threats.  However, do not be afraid of taking a journey. Do not be afraid of stepping out along the way because God is with us. It has a challenge that make us strong; it has an opportunity that open us a new horizon of life. It humbles us and it strengthens us. 

Along the way revels something about ourselves: our weaknesses and strength. It points to self-definition of life and the starting point of creating our new narrative, which can be one day become a grand narrative. We hope.

SUFFERING: IS IT AN ESSENTIAL OF BEING HUMAN

How do you respond to suffering? What do you do when you encounter suffering?

We actually try hard to run away or walk away from all kind of sufferings. We do hate to see the suffering of people. We naturally cry and feel sad because of sufferings. But we can never free totally ourselves from sufferings.

Buddha Gautama tried to solve the problem of human sufferings. He thought the doctrine of " the four noble truths", these are: the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path to eliminate the sufferings. So Buddha tried to find ways to end the sufferings. Buddha saw that sufferings are here and offered ways to eliminate the sufferings by self discipline to reach Nirvana. On the other hand, Jesus of Nazareth, taught his disciples and followers to embrace the sufferings. Moreover, He himself showed the example of embracing the sufferings by carrying the cross and died on the cross.  For Jesus, that is the only way to victory of resurrection and everlasting life. 

Buddha and Jesus saw that human sufferings are essential part of being human but the difference is in the way of their dealing with it because the first emphasis on one self discipline to end the suffering in order to reach Nirvana and the later put more on embracing it. Buddha saw the suffering of humanity is the curse and the condition that should be avoided but Jesus saw as a blessing that should be embraced in order to have Resurrection.

 

If suffering is part of being human, why do we try to end the suffering? If we avoid suffering, can we still be living our life to the fullness? And if we embrace the suffering for the high value, can we live joyfully int this state?

In the olden past, suffering and pain are seen as  an Evil and Bad Spirit's creation, which is opposed to the God of Paradise, the ultimate of happiness. In the story of Job, a faithful servant of God, who were tempted by Satan and then lived in the state of suffering (See the Book of Job), we encountered the mystery of suffering caused by Satan. Moreover, the paradise, the place of ultimate happiness, was lost because of humanity's obeying the voice of Satan, instead of that of God (See the Book of Genesis 2 and 3). Therefore, Buddha, with his Eight-folds pats, these are: Right Understanding, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration, gives a prescription to end the suffering.

On the other side, the reality of human sufferings is seen as a part of being human and by it to be fully human. It means through suffering, human can understand fully who they are here on earth and the purpose of their being here. So, it is advisable that embracing suffering is a way of  growing up to be complete of human. furthermore, by suffering we are thought to seek and long for the real happiness and the ultimate happiness, which is in heaven. Jesus of Nazareth stands in this point. He did the will of God by embracing suffering but because of it God granted him the Resurrection, the Eternal Bliss and Happiness. Suffering is seen as a blessing. Jesus thought His disciples, saying, "Blessed are the poor, the meek, those who mourn, who hunger (See the Gospel of Matthew 5:2-12). The great reward in Heaven is the ultimate goal of suffering.

So these two opposite ways of dealing with suffering were united in the end because both are seeking their ultimate Paradise, Happiness, Nirvana and Heaven. 

Let us be aware of the real presence of suffering in our midst but should not make us lose our hope for reaching our ultimate Paradise and Happiness. Ways to end the suffering were given to us by Buddha but at the same time ways to embrace it and to live with suffering were showed by Jesus of Nazareth.  Hope these two ways will compliment each other and will give us some meanings of our human sufferings. We hope.