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All of us want to find happiness and many books, teachers, and resources attempt to help us become happier. Yet we all continue to suffer in some form or fashion. What if happiness is available right now, but this happiness cannot be without suffering?
In his classic book No Mud, No Lotus, the late Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh explained,
The art of happiness is also the art of suffering well. When we learn to acknowledge, embrace and understand our suffering, we suffer much less. Not only that, but we can also go further and transform our suffering into understanding, compassion, and joy for ourselves and others.
One of the most challenging things to accept is the idea that there is no place where there’s only happiness and no suffering. […]
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The Art of Suffering