My guru sent me an email that I can’t stop thinking about. It was simple, almost blunt, but it explained why most of the suffering we experience today is unnecessary. It wasn’t a long teaching or a sacred text—just a reminder of how easy peace can be if we understand what’s really going on.Buddhism, he wrote, is one of the oldest spiritual paths in the world. It started with the Buddha, a man who saw that life is full of suffering but also that suffering can end. His message was simple: suffering happens when we cling to pain and fight against life. Peace comes when we stop clinging and learn to let go.My guru broke it down even more. He said there are only a handful of things that truly cause suffering. In fact, he said you can fit them into one easy-to-remember list called THE SHIT:Thirst. Hunger. Exposure to the elements. Sickness. Horniness. Injury. Tiredness.And then there’s one more: Your Brain.For most of human history, these things were everywhere. People suffered from thirst because they didn’t have clean water. Hunger was constant. Exposure to the cold or heat could kill you. Sickness and injury were deadly because there were no doctors or medicine. Life was hard and short.But my guru reminded me that for most people in the modern world, these problems don’t have to control us anymore. Clean water is at the turn of a tap. Food is easy to find. Most people have roofs over their heads, clothes to wear, and access to medicine when they’re sick. Even horniness, injury, and tiredness are things we can handle. Modern life has removed most of the pain that haunted our ancestors.Thirst? Drink.Hunger? Eat.Exposure? Go inside.Sickness? Take care of your body, see a doctor.Horniness? Take care of it or let it pass.Injury? Be careful.Tiredness? Sleep in your safe bed.If all that is true, why do we still suffer so much? Because of the last one: Your Brain.The brain is ancient. It evolved to keep us alive when the world was full of threats. It constantly looks for danger, imagines problems, and creates fear to keep you alert. That was useful when tigers lurked in the bushes. Today, it’s mostly noise. The brain still invents suffering even when you’re safe. It whispers lies about what’s wrong and what’s missing, dragging you away from peace.The Buddha taught that suffering comes from attachment—clinging to thoughts and feelings as if they are permanent truths. My guru said that most of the time, our brains feed us suffering because we don’t question it. We believe the fear. We believe the story. We forget that we’re already safe, already okay, already living better than almost anyone who came before us.The truth is, for many of us, life is already as close to paradise as humanity has ever known. You’re alive, reading this, likely in comfort, with clean water and food nearby. This is already what the Buddha called Nirvana—freedom from suffering. The only reason it doesn’t feel like it is because we let our brains drag us back into fear and want.My guru said that Nirvana isn’t some faraway place or something only for monks. It’s here, now, waiting for you to notice it. It’s what you feel when you take care of your body and stop believing the false stories your brain spins. It’s not complicated, but it takes seeing things clearly.Sadly, most people don’t want to give up their suffering. They cling to it because it feels familiar, because it gives them something to hold. They say they want peace but keep choosing pain. That’s their choice.But you don’t have to. You can handle THE SHIT—thirst, hunger, exposure, sickness, horniness, injury, tiredness—because our world makes that easy. Then you can start to tame the brain, the last and biggest source of suffering.When you stop letting your brain lie to you, suffering fades. You realize peace was always here. Nirvana is not something you earn—it’s something you see. It’s been waiting all along.

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