Overthinking about life

Question

I lived a comfortable life, there is always food on the table, a nice bed to sleep on however, when i look outside to society i see people struggling to live and sometimes at night i kept thinking about how i am privileged than others and it makes me feel even bad for myself.

1.) What is the best way to understand myself when i see suffering in life and i feel bad about it.

2.) Is there small ways i can contribute to hopefully help others in need?

Thank you

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Thank you sir

Answer 1

1.) I would say studying reality is a good start. Basically, you need to understand cause and effect, karma. Only then you'll become compassionate the right way, which means you don't feel bad when seeing suffering. Your past situation never assures your future situation. You may become to struggle. If not with having a comfortable life, then with other things, like health, old age, loss of a loved one.

2.) There are many ways to contribute, help. But you need to understand your limits. Maybe accepting that you can't help everyone. Struggling has a cause, usually stinginess even theft in the past. The current Nama-Rupa combination may not be aware of past wrongdoings, but it's there latently in the mindstream.

Also important to understand that, when you give or being compassionate you are benefiting your own mind, your own future in the first place, not the other persons. And you see, if only they could know that this is how it works? How quickly could their situation change if they had a different mindset?

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Thank you for your answer

Answer 2

Compassion or Karuna that makes one sympathetic towards the suffering of others is a wholesome quality and it should cultivated. But do not be infatuated with your own state of living. Here are some of the forms of suffering you have experienced, are experiencing and will or could experience even if you are born into a wealthy family:

1. Birth: trapped in the womb for 9 months 
2. Having to be dependent on others as a kid for years until you learn the ways of the world with effort.
3. Getting sick in very unpleasant ways.
4. Having to eat 2 or 3 times a day to maintain the body.
5. Having to clean the body on a daily basis.
6. Your body is so vulnerable that even beings that are as small as ants, mosquitoes etc. can cause unpleasant experiences.
7. Getting old and becoming weak and unattractive.
8. Hot and cold climates causing unpleasant experiences.
9. The possibility of being injured, drowned, burnt or poisoned.  
10. Having to hear insults.
11. Being cheated by people.
12. Thieves, kings or governments stealing your wealth.
13. Getting assaulted.
14. Getting imprisoned for false charges.
15. Losing loved ones.
16. Having to associate unpleasant people.
17. Having to work to maintain and protect your possessions.
18. Whatever pleasant sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches and thoughts always fading away and having to work to experience them again.
19. Getting bored of things that made you happy before and having to find a new way to induce happiness again.
20. The fear of losing the things you consider as yours.
21. Death
     

• The best way to understand suffering is to understand the first noble truth of suffering, understand the cause of suffering, understand the cessation of suffering and understand the way to end suffering.
   
• Lady Vishaka once said to her father in law that he is eating stale food. That means he was enjoying the results of his past good Karma without doing any good deeds in the present life. So even if you are rich today, you can lose it all at any time. There is nothing that guarantees that you will be born into pleasant circumstances next life unless you work for it. You can do good deeds by helping those who are in need with donations etc. while working on reaching the cessation of suffering yourself and inspiring others to do the same.
   

 

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Thank you sir

Answer 3

Meditation, charity, donations, helping in society, helping others whom you see in suffering or struggling. Practice meditation.