Suffering primarily is an internal function that is a result of a person's attitude. You can see it every day in how people react to the situations around them. There are those that may be handicapped or sick, but they are always in the best of spirits and looking up, and there are those that at every little thing that goes wrong they scream "Why me?!" and act like it is the end of the world. The relief or avoidance of suffering begins with looking at how you react to situations around you and listening closely to the internal dialogue you are telling yourself. If you can identify your negative reactions/thoughts and begin to let these things go, then you will begin to see your suffering ease.
Try to be flexible and also try to keep things in perspective - was what just happened really so bad that you needed to lose your temper or have your day ruined? Sure, you may have preferred it not to have happened, but as things cycle through it will get better again. How can you react better next time? I used to hate it when people would say "it is what it is." "What kind of an answer is that?" I would complain. "This isn't right, now we have to fix it, this is annoying!" But now I try to react the same way-to try to more "go with the flow" than to immediately object or want to complain about has happened. What is done is done, you can't change it, complaining doesn't make it any better, so the best action to take is to react in the best manner possible.
I also want to mention that I think that when trying to grasp the concept of viewing good and bad or pleasure and pain as the same and to have no preference of one over the other, to accomplish this there are several mindsets to experiment with. There is the idea that you are trying to become indifferent to certain situations or reactions, to lessen their power by not reacting in a major way. But this quote says to be even-keel with both good and bad, and I think everyone would agree that you don't want to dull and be indifferent to the joys of life. I like the idea even more of trying to be more accepting of all situations. You want to be more tolerant, because you know that life is ever changing and as fast as something bad or painful came up, it can disappear just as easily and be replaced with joyful moments. And with this too, because you know that the good moments will change as well, it is a reminder to be fully in those moments and enjoy them for as long as they are there.
Try to be flexible and also try to keep things in perspective - was what just happened really so bad that you needed to lose your temper or have your day ruined? Sure, you may have preferred it not to have happened, but as things cycle through it will get better again. How can you react better next time? I used to hate it when people would say "it is what it is." "What kind of an answer is that?" I would complain. "This isn't right, now we have to fix it, this is annoying!" But now I try to react the same way-to try to more "go with the flow" than to immediately object or want to complain about has happened. What is done is done, you can't change it, complaining doesn't make it any better, so the best action to take is to react in the best manner possible.
I also want to mention that I think that when trying to grasp the concept of viewing good and bad or pleasure and pain as the same and to have no preference of one over the other, to accomplish this there are several mindsets to experiment with. There is the idea that you are trying to become indifferent to certain situations or reactions, to lessen their power by not reacting in a major way. But this quote says to be even-keel with both good and bad, and I think everyone would agree that you don't want to dull and be indifferent to the joys of life. I like the idea even more of trying to be more accepting of all situations. You want to be more tolerant, because you know that life is ever changing and as fast as something bad or painful came up, it can disappear just as easily and be replaced with joyful moments. And with this too, because you know that the good moments will change as well, it is a reminder to be fully in those moments and enjoy them for as long as they are there.