Buddha’s teaching: “All existence is suffering.” He also offered a solution: withdrawal from existence into non-existence, and then all problems will be solved. According to this, as long as you wish to exist, you will suffer; in other words, the very desire to exist is the cause of all our troubles. This must be eliminated, that's all. Of course, withdrawing from existence isn’t that simple—for example, God has a say in the matter—but Buddha simply settled this by stating that God does not exist, or if He does, then He is it.

Atheists cannot offer any solution to suffering beyond the promise of scientific and technological progress. That is why they push for scientific and technological progress—with the result, so far, that with the vision of “sustainable development,” they have brought even more suffering upon the planet, which will obviously prove unsustainable. Having everything you could possibly imagine has not yet eliminated suffering. Those having with more experience already know that it never will. For atheists, existence is indeed completely meaningless, and the only goal is the pursuit of the false illusion of happiness through pleasure, which will inevitably conflict with external and internal limits. Anyone seeking a true solution must abandon this path.

Most religions export the solution to the afterlife; according to this view, you cannot be happy here on Earth because of your sins (karma, etc.), but if you behave well, you will achieve happiness in the afterlife (in heaven…). Christianity finds itself in a massive contradiction with itself in this regard. The first step toward canonization is beatification. Let’s look at how many Christians have been beatified over the past 2,000 years. Well, roughly that many have attained otherworldly happiness—that is, the level of the afterlife where suffering is no longer the primary motivation. Bright prospects for Christians—truly most welcome!

In our yoga school, we explore this topic much more deeply from a philosophical perspective—something this page is obviously not suited for. Buddha was right in his starting point, and indeed, his derivation of the solution is absolutely systematic and logical. The partial truths of religions are also valid solutions. However, the world around us is a multivariable system (operational domain) with numerous solutions. The EYA-N yoga school offers a solution for ending suffering that is in harmony with the principle of Jesus; indeed, if one understands it deeply, it may turn out to be in harmony with the principles of all religions, and it does not contradict even Buddhism or atheism. I will illustrate this through examples, in simplified terms, in several steps.

Let’s look at a few examples of what causes people the most suffering here in earthly existence.

1. Emotions: not being loved, being cheated on, being deceived, being abandoned, being neglected, being looked down upon, etc.
2. Fears: someone cannot make a living, cannot learn or apply things, is mistreated, is restricted, etc.
3. Illnesses: which are incurable, painful, limit one’s way of life, one becomes dependent on others, etc.

Well, these problems are not related to existence itself, nor to the desire to exist, but rather to ignorance. Ignorance is not, in an absolute sense, a lack of knowledge, but rather the presence of certain knowledge and the absence of another knowledge. In other words, we do not know or cannot provide exactly what is needed at the moment, and this gives rise to adaptation frustration in the individual. To use a fashionable expression, suffering is a problem of self-knowledge; that is, the individual assesses his or her situation, abilities, and the personalities of others incompletely or incorrectly, and as a result, cannot find a way out and wanders in his or her own emotional and mental labyrinth.

Viewed from the perspective of Oneness, the cause of an individual’s suffering is a lack of unity with the other individuals involved in the situation, with nature, with society, and ultimately with God. Now, if this is true, then the way to end suffering is to achieve Oneness with these very same entities. How can we achieve Oneness? Through learning. But nobody likes that. Why? For the same reason as a child. Learning is tedious; the child wants to play and expects his parents to give him everything so he can try out even the most ridiculous things. He doesn’t get it. So, he gets angry, thinking his parents don’t love him. Human beings are just like children; they expect God to give them everything they need for their games. If He doesn’t, then He either doesn’t exist or He’s resent. If He’s angry, then He must be appeased, and ever since the dawn of humanity, people have been trying to do so with the most absurd sacrifices and penances.

Yet there is only one thing they should do: learn, grow, and mature!

(to be continued…)

Margaret Rhasoda Varga
guru of UCCM
Budapest, Hungary