Why We Suffer or Rejoice: The Buddha’s Insight into the Three Types of Beings
Understanding the Balance Between Suffering and Happiness
In this world, beings live amidst a continuous dance between joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, birth and death. The Buddha, in His infinite wisdom, explained that these contrasting experiences arise not by chance but by the moral quality of our actions our kamma (karma). According to the Anguttara Nikaya, there are three kinds of persons found in the world, each shaped by their actions: one who experiences suffering, one who experiences happiness, and one who experiences both.
This profound discourse helps us reflect on why human life is filled with both bliss and misery, and how our bodily, verbal, and mental actions determine our path. Let us dive deep into this teaching, exploring the nature of kamma, the roots of happiness and suffering, and how to walk the middle path toward ultimate peace.
The Law of Kamma: The Invisible Force Behind Our Experiences
Every experience we go through be it joyful or painful is not random. It is the result of kamma, the moral energy produced by our intentional actions. Kamma operates through cause and effect. If one sows seeds of virtue, the harvest is sweet. If one plants seeds of unwholesomeness, the fruit will be bitter.
The Buddha once said, “Beings are the owners of their kamma, heirs of their kamma, born of their kamma, related through their kamma, and live dependent on their kamma.” This means each person shapes their own destiny. No divine creator or fate determines our joy or pain; it is our own volitional deeds that weave the fabric of our lives.
Three Types of Persons Seen in the World
1. The Person Who Suffers – The Path of Wrong Actions
Venerable sir, here a certain person accumulates wrong bodily actions, wrong verbal actions, and wrong mental actions. Through greed, hatred, and delusion, they harm others and themselves.
Wrong Bodily Actions
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Taking life out of cruelty or ignorance
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Stealing what is not given
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Engaging in sexual misconduct
These actions disturb peace and create conditions for future pain.
Wrong Verbal Actions
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Indulging in useless speech that wastes time
Such speech erodes trust, creating a life of isolation and regret.
Wrong Mental Actions
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Holding false or distorted views about reality
These defilements poison the mind, making one restless and unhappy even in this life. When such a person passes away, their consciousness gravitates toward painful realms just like beings in hell, where agony dominates every moment.
In essence, one who cultivates unwholesome deeds reaps the fruit of suffering.
2. The Person Who Is Happy – The Path of Blameless Actions
On the other hand, there is a person who performs blameless bodily, verbal, and mental actions. Such a person follows the path of virtue, guided by wisdom and compassion.
Blameless Bodily Actions
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Abstaining from killing, instead practicing kindness
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Respecting others’ property and generosity
Blameless Verbal Actions
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Speaking truthfully with sincerity
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Using gentle words that bring peace
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Speaking in ways that unite, not divide
Blameless Mental Actions
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Cultivating loving-kindness (metta)
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Practicing compassion (karuna)
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Developing right view and understanding impermanence
Such a person, upon passing away, is reborn in a world of happiness realms of the gods or blissful human existence. They experience pleasant feelings, touched by joy, serenity, and clarity.
They are like the devas beings of light and delight. But even this happiness is impermanent. The wise understand that worldly pleasure is still conditioned and therefore not ultimate liberation.
3. The Person Who Experiences Both Suffering and Happiness
Then there is a third person one who performs both wrong and blameless actions. Sometimes kind, sometimes cruel; sometimes wise, sometimes ignorant.
The Dual Nature of Their Kamma
Because their actions are mixed, their results are mixed. They may enjoy periods of happiness, followed by suffering.
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When good kamma ripens, life becomes joyful and peaceful.
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When bad kamma ripens, hardships and pain arise.
Thus, they experience both suffering and happiness, just as humans do.
This person may be reborn as a human again, or even among certain gods or beings who share mixed experiences. The Buddha described this group as those living in samsara’s middle stream, neither fully fallen nor fully liberated.
The Reflection: What Determines Our Future Worlds
The Buddha’s teaching is neither a moral threat nor blind faith it is a universal law of balance. Every thought, word, and deed is like a seed. Some seeds blossom quickly in this life; others ripen in future births.
Three Levels of Kamma Results
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Immediate effect — experienced in this life.
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Next-birth effect — felt in the very next existence.
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Delayed effect — appearing in later births.
Therefore, every moment offers a chance to purify our kamma by choosing wholesome intentions.
Understanding “Worlds” Beyond Physical Realms
When the Buddha spoke of “worlds,” He did not only refer to planets or places but also mental states. A person experiencing hatred is already living in a world of suffering. A person filled with compassion lives in a world of happiness, even now.
Thus, heaven and hell are not distant they arise within the mind. The world we are “reborn” into each moment depends on the state of our consciousness.
The Middle Path: Escaping Both Suffering and Worldly Pleasure
While happiness is preferable to suffering, the Buddha taught that both are impermanent. Even pleasure is bound to end, leading to craving and attachment.
The wise walk the Middle Path (Majjhima Patipada) avoiding both indulgence in pleasure and self-torture. Through morality (sila), concentration (samadhi), and wisdom (panna), one purifies the mind and breaks the cycle of birth and death.
Practical Application: How to Transform Our Kamma Today
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Guard Your Body – Avoid harm, live with compassion.
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Guard Your Speech – Speak truth and peace.
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Guard Your Mind – Let go of greed and anger.
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Practice Meditation – Observe thoughts and emotions with mindfulness.
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Cultivate Wisdom – Reflect on impermanence and selflessness.
Through these practices, even those born in suffering can rise above pain and walk toward peace.
The Deeper Meaning of Happiness and Suffering
Just as the lotus blooms from muddy water, enlightenment arises from the understanding of both pleasure and pain.
The True Freedom: Beyond Both Joy and Sorrow
Only through understanding and letting go can one reach this supreme liberation.
Conclusion: The Choice Is Yours
In summary, three kinds of people dwell in this world
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Those who suffer due to unwholesome actions,
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Those who are happy due to wholesome actions, and
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Those who experience both due to mixed actions.
The message of the Buddha is timeless: our present and future depend on what we think, speak, and do today. Every action is a brushstroke painting the canvas of our destiny.
Choose wisely. Live mindfully. Walk the path of wisdom and compassion and you shall find the true happiness that neither arises nor fades.
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Namo Buddhaya!
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