Our Views
“The Buddha called suffering a Holy Truth, because our suffering has the capacity of showing us the path to liberation”
— Thich Nhat Hanh, 1998
Understanding Suffering
We can only solve our problems when we understand them. Rather than running away from them we need to face, embrace and learn from them.
Therefore, we created a framework of our understanding of the world’s suffering. We believe that in order to really understand suffering we need to address it on different levels. Global suffering refers to the victims of atrocities such as war, poverty and natural disasters. Social suffering addresses inter-human violence, hate, stigmatisation and discrimination. And psychological suffering puts light on the psychological injuries caused by the above, such as trauma, lack of self-worth and depression.
Global Suffering
Poverty, violence, displacement and hunger
We live in a world where many are suffering. Violence, poverty, climate change and racism are just a few of the factors causing millions of people to live in inhumane circumstances. Currently, 79,5 million people are (officially) displaced from their homes due to violence, hunger or natural disasters (UNHCR, 2019).
Social Suffering
Inequality, stigmatisation, discrimination and hate
“Official history, mutilated memory, is a long, self-serving ceremony for those who give the orders in this world. Their spotlights illuminate the heights and leave the grass roots in darkness. The always invisible are at best props on the stage of history”.
Psychological Suffering
Trauma, depression, self-stigmatisation and despair
“When you’re traumatised, the sense of self, your individuality, is beaten up. Your skin color, your background, your pain, your hope, you gender, your faith, it’s all veiled. Those essential pieces of yourself are stolen. You, as a person, are emptied and flattened, and that violence, that theft, keeps you from embodying a life that feels like your own. To continue to exist, as a whole person, you need to re-create, for yourself, an identity untouched by everything that’s been used against you. You need to imagine and build a self out of elements that are not tainted. You need to remake yourself on your own terms”.