The Value of Suffering
Would you rather
Would you suffer 29 years for a value?
Would you rather suffer for something you believe in, or never suffer at all?
Quick check · tap an answer to continue
Lesson notes
Explain why the same suffering can feel meaningful or meaningless depending on the value behind it
Key points
- Hiroo Onoda kept fighting on Lubang Island for 29 years after the war ended, because his value was loyalty to orders.
- His pain felt meaningful to him because of that value, so the value behind suffering, not the suffering itself, decides what it means.
Definitions
- Value
- The standard by which you measure yourself and judge what matters
Takeaway: Your values decide what your pain means.
Quick check: What decides what your pain means, according to the Onoda example?
- Avoiding all pain
- The value behind the pain
- How much you suffer
The value you hold gives pain its meaning, not the amount of suffering.
valuesufferingmeaningHiroo OnodaValue
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