--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Karma and hell and suffering aren’t…" description: "\"“Karma and hell and suffering aren’t things in their own right but disturbances in this flimsy substance of false self. The problem isn’t in the distur..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/jed-mckenna-15841_suffering_karma-and-hell-and-suffering-aren-t-thin_2246722.jpg" --- # Karma and hell and suffering aren’t things in their own… ![“Karma and hell and suffering aren’t things in their own right but disturbances in this flimsy substance of false self. The problem isn’t in the disturbing things but in the thing disturbed. The thing disturbed is the false thing and if it weren’t there, there’d be nothing to be disturbed. Nothing…” quote by Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/jed-mckenna-15841_suffering_karma-and-hell-and-suffering-aren-t-thin_2246722.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/jed-mckenna-15841_suffering_karma-and-hell-and-suffering-aren-t-thin_2246722.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/jed-mckenna-15841_suffering_karma-and-hell-and-suffering-aren-t-thin_2246722.jpg) > ““Karma and hell and suffering aren’t things in their own right but disturbances in this flimsy substance of false self. The problem isn’t in the disturbing things but in the thing disturbed. The thing disturbed is the false thing and if it weren’t there, there’d be nothing to be disturbed. Nothing to get pierced or burned or dried out. Nothing to be wounded or slain.”” [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suffering arises from the false self; when the false self disappears, there is nothing left to suffer. **In simple terms:** Suffering is tied to the illusion of self. Key Takeaway Detach from the false self to end suffering. Themes spirituality self suffering Mood contemplative serene Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - meditation practice - psychotherapy - personal crisis - mindfulness training Key Concepts nonduality philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What does the “false self” mean to you? - Can you experience peace without a self-identity? A Different Perspective Eliminating the self may be psychologically destabilizing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [“It is in our power to have no opinion about a thing and not to be disturbed in our soul; for things themselves have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/it-is-in-our-power-to-have-no-opinion-about-a-thing-and-not-to-be/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [What is hell?...The suffering that comes from the consciousness that one is no longer able to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/what-is-hell-the-suffering-that-comes-from-the-consciousness-that-one/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“There is no miserable place waiting for you, no hell realm, sitting and waiting like Alaska—waiting to turn you into ice cream. But whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-yeshe/there-is-no-miserable-place-waiting-for-you-no-hell-realm-sitting-and/) Lama Yeshe > [Hell is the suffering of being unable to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/hell-is-the-suffering-of-being-unable-to-love/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [“It is possible to conceive of something even more terrible than a hell of suffering, and that is a hell of boredom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-is-possible-to-conceive-of-something-even-more-terrible-than-a/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [There is something more terrible than a hell of suffering--a hell of boredom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-something-more-terrible-than-a-hell-of-suffering-a-hell-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [But should we continue to linger amid a scene so featureless and wild, or venture adown some yawning opening into the abyss beneath, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-miller/but-should-we-continue-to-linger-amid-a-scene-so-featureless-and-wild/) [Hugh Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-miller/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [Suffering did different things to different people...Some souls became tempered, unshakable in their faith, while others became twisted and mis-shapen, throwing off all connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-ragen/suffering-did-different-things-to-different-people-some-souls-became/) [Naomi Ragen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-ragen/) > [“But, you know, if you choose to be with someone you should feel good with them, otherwise it doesn't make sense... How do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assia-petricelli/but-you-know-if-you-choose-to-be-with-someone-you-should-feel-good/) Assia Petricelli > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/pain-is-meant-to-wake-us-up-people-try-to-hide-their-pain-but-they-re/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) ## More by Jed McKenna > [“The American dream of freedom and abundance is just a child’s rendering of true freedom and abundance, and serves only to convince people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/the-american-dream-of-freedom-and-abundance-is-just-a-child-s/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) > [“I don’t see it as my role to save or rescue anybody any more than regular people feel the need to rescue each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/i-don-t-see-it-as-my-role-to-save-or-rescue-anybody-any-more-than/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) > [“Before enlightenment I believed my ego was me, then enlightenment comes along and no more ego, only the underlying reality. Now it’s after enlightenment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/before-enlightenment-i-believed-my-ego-was-me-then-enlightenment/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) > [“No disrespect to the Buddha is intended. If there was a Buddha and he was enlightened, then it’s Buddhism that insults his memory, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/no-disrespect-to-the-buddha-is-intended-if-there-was-a-buddha-and-he/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) > [“Suffering just means you’re having a bad dream. Happiness means you’re having a good dream. Enlightenment means getting out of the dream altogether.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/suffering-just-means-you-re-having-a-bad-dream-happiness-means-you-re/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) > [“The point is to wake up, not to earn a Ph.D. In waking up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/the-point-is-to-wake-up-not-to-earn-a-ph-d-in-waking-up/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) > [“There’s nothing left to contend against and nothing left that must be done, and there will never be anything that must be done ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/there-s-nothing-left-to-contend-against-and-nothing-left-that-must-be/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) > [“How many years have I spent lighting incense and candles? Meditating? Chasing after gurus and teachers, reading all that crap, following every stupid new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/how-many-years-have-i-spent-lighting-incense-and-candles-meditating/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) > [“Once you start seeing this place for the madhouse it is, you can’t stop seeing it that way. It’s everywhere, everyone. It doesn’t make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/once-you-start-seeing-this-place-for-the-madhouse-it-is-you-can-t/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) > [“Further   Whoever was responsible for the idea of dividing self into lower and higher parts committed a serious crime against humanity. This division…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/further-whoever-was-responsible-for-the-idea-of-dividing-self-into/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) > [“The emperor has no clothes, and sooner or later everyone is going to see what’s staring them right in the face. When that happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/the-emperor-has-no-clothes-and-sooner-or-later-everyone-is-going-to/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) > [“The you that you think of as you (and that thinks of you as you, and so on) is not you, it’s just the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/the-you-that-you-think-of-as-you-and-that-thinks-of-you-as-you-and-so/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) > [“There seems to be an attitude that opinion counts for something. Goethe said none are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/there-seems-to-be-an-attitude-that-opinion-counts-for-something/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) > [“I don’t have something you don’t; you believe something I don’t.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/i-don-t-have-something-you-don-t-you-believe-something-i-don-t/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) > [“The really strange thing about being awake isn’t being awake; it’s the people that aren’t. They’re walking and talking in their dreamstates; some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/the-really-strange-thing-about-being-awake-isn-t-being-awake-it-s-the/) [Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) [Explore all 41 Jed McKenna quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/) ## More Suffering quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/pain-is-meant-to-wake-us-up-people-try-to-hide-their-pain-but-they-re/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“But, you know, if you choose to be with someone you should feel good with them, otherwise it doesn't make sense... How do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assia-petricelli/but-you-know-if-you-choose-to-be-with-someone-you-should-feel-good/) Assia Petricelli > [Suffering did different things to different people...Some souls became tempered, unshakable in their faith, while others became twisted and mis-shapen, throwing off all connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-ragen/suffering-did-different-things-to-different-people-some-souls-became/) [Naomi Ragen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-ragen/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [Certainly, it is. Love is love, and loss is loss. We all love, and we all die, and everyone suffers the pain of grieving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/certainly-it-is-love-is-love-and-loss-is-loss-we-all-love-and-we-all/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“Because we live in a fallen world, we suffer. But those of us who know Jesus are never alone in the suffering, that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-turner-lee/because-we-live-in-a-fallen-world-we-suffer-but-those-of-us-who-know/) Melissa Turner Lee > [“Maybe love, like suffering, is relative. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/maybe-love-like-suffering-is-relative/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Browse all 13,957 Suffering quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Karma and hell and suffering aren’t things in their own right but disturbances in this flimsy substance of false self. The problem isn’t in the disturbing things but in the thing disturbed. The thing disturbed is the false thing and if it weren’t there, there’d be nothing to be disturbed. Nothing to get pierced or burned or dried out. 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