There are four sufferings in human beings. That is the sufferings of birth, aging, disease and death.

 

Author: Tao Qing Hsu (Hsu, Tao-qing) 

  

Buddha Shakyamuni had mentioned that there are four sufferings in human beings. That is the sufferings of birth, aging, disease and death. In other words, human beings are fall into the cycling of birth and death in the Six Paths and are suffering within the cycle.

 

The Six Paths is classified as followings:

The Path of Bodhisattva

The Path of Ashura

The Path of Human beings

The Path of hungry Ghost

The Path of animal

The Path of hell

 

So, we are in the Path of human beings. And whatever who you are, how rich and how smart you are, we couldn't deny that we have to experience the sufferings of birth, aging, disease and death, not to mention those persons who are poor or sick. A wise doctor has said what is packed in the coffin is dead people, not elder people. To suffer the death is not the patent of the elder people. It is possible for humans of all ages to suffer a disease or death, including the infant. 

 

The generalized meaning of the suffering of birth includes the suffering of life. In the opinion of Buddha Shakyamuni, human beings make a lot of sins because of the surviving and the suffering of life, and also because of no-wisdom. For surviving, the human beings has no-wisdom and generate the heart of greedy, hatred and stupid infatuation, and thus to incur a lot of harm and disaster to oneself and others. That is suffering, too.