Suffering

Welcome to the Making Sense Of: Suffering interdisciplinary research and publications project. The project seeks to explore the extent to which, if any, meaning can be found in suffering. During the course of living our lives, we are invariably forced to stop and question why we suffer – be it through illness, pain, loss, grief or the multitude of distressing circumstances which we encounter. Problems arise in a variety of contexts and due to a bewildering variety of conditions. And because our lives are constantly on-going streams of experience, the nature of suffering and consequently the ‘meaning’ of such suffering continually varies and changes.

The project will explore a number of core themes.

1. What is suffering?
2. The roots of suffering
3. The meaning of suffering
4. Explaining suffering
5. Suffering and practice
6. Suffering and religion
7. Representing suffering
8. Overcoming suffering

Related themes will also be identified for development and exploration. Out of our deliberations it is anticipated that a series of related cross context research projects will develop.