All Beings Have the Ability to Free Oneself from Suffering in This Lifetime with Noah Levine

All beings, including you, including me. If we want it. If we are willing to work hard, we can purify all of our karma. We can wake up to what’s causing our suffering and change our relationship so radically to what's causing our suffering that we find peace, we find ease. We end our suffering. All beings have the ability. All of us. As they say in AA, “no matter how far down the scales your life has gone, you have the ability to recover.” The Buddha says, “no matter how confused you become, no matter how bad your karma is based on your actions in this lifetime.” I know for myself when I first came to Buddhism I thought, “I don't know. I've hurt a lot of people. I've hurt myself. I don't know if I can be free.” It sounded a little far-fetched. And enlightenment? Freedom? Liberation? It all sounded a little too mystical to me. Still does in some ways, although my definition, my experience has sort of changed. If your idea of freedom is that you're going to experience bliss all of the time, you'll be disappointed. If your idea is that you will be comfortable all of the time, that you will not have pain anymore, that's not possible. That's not what the Buddha's teaching. He's saying - and this is very important to get our mind around - that there's a huge difference between pain and suffering.