Why We Suffer—and How to Stop Adding to the Pain

Practical Wisdom with Dr. Rick Hanson

We can’t stop life from bringing pain—loss, disappointment, aging—but we can stop piling extra suffering on top of it. 

In this talk, I explore timeless Buddhist wisdom and practical psychology for meeting life’s “golden winds” without being blown away by them. Learn how to recognize the difference between pain and the suffering we create, work with craving and clinging, and rest in the natural state of peaceful, openhearted happiness that’s already within you.

You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-why-we-suffer-and-how-to-stop-adding-to-the-pain/

And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.

More description

We can’t stop life from bringing pain—loss, disappointment, aging—but we can stop piling extra suffering on top of it. 

In this talk, I explore timeless Buddhist wisdom and practical psychology for meeting life’s “golden winds” without being blown away by them. Learn how to recognize the difference between pain and the suffering we create, work with craving and clinging, and rest in the natural state of peaceful, openhearted happiness that’s already within you.

You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-why-we-suffer-and-how-to-stop-adding-to-the-pain/

And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.

2025-09-10 47 min
Listen elsewhere

Available Results

Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.

No generated results are available for this episode yet.

Transcript

No transcript is available for this episode yet.
Sign in to generate a transcript for review.
Sign in

Chapters

No chapters available.