The Cause of Human Suffering

According to the Buddha, the cause of human suffering is want. Not only is that true, but it is especially evident in our American society today. The current state of our economy has caused a lot of suffering. The whole problem started because of greed, or want.

If you look at most situations where there is human suffering you can link it back to some form of want. Whether the want is by the person suffering of the suffering is caused by the want of someone else. The want can be greed, power or just keeping up with the Jones'.

I have said before that we in the United States confuse wants with needs. I guess this problem goes all the way back to the time when Siddhārtha Gautama was alive, c. 563 BCE to 483 BCE. If we look back through history you can see that all civilizations confuse wants with needs as they start to peak and then decline. I believe that we are at that stage now. Unless something drastic happens to change our mentality, our country will begin a great decline and we will just be another country without power in the world.