Pain and Pleasure

I have been watching "Ask a Monk" on YouTube; it is entertaining at least, and enlightening for sure.

I've been thinking about attachment relating to both pain and pleasure. It seems as if in Buddhism, neither pain nor pleasure are judged, in the sense that neither is "good or bad."

From watching these videos and also contemplating the philosophies being taught, I can understand more clearly (although purely intellectually at this point) what the Buddhists mean when they say that attachment causes suffering.

"There is no happiness that comes from clinging. Attachment is a sort of stress, it's something that brings the mind out of its state of peace and happiness. If you engage in attachment, addiction, wanting, desire, and so on, you're only going to become more and more miserable when you compartmentalize reality into "good" and "bad" and therefore don't get always what you want because you have wants. If you're able to accept reality for what it is it's not a question of whether its pleasure or pain at all, you're able to live in harmony with the world around you. In harmony with reality as it is. Accepting change, accepting the good and bad, not giving labels to things as "good" or "bad" at all." -yuttadhammo in his YouTube Video "Giving Up Pleasure."

When we judge pleasure as "good," we become attached to pleasure, crave pleasure, and continually seek pleasure, taking us out of the "now," the present moment, causing suffering. As well as taking us out of the present moment, we suffer when we no longer find pleasure in what originally caused us pleasure. When we consistently seek pleasure to avoid pain or difficult emotions, this may evolve into an addiction, again, causing suffering.

When we judge pain as "bad," and become attached to this point of view, we attempt to avoid pain (maybe by seeking pleasure), and when we find that pain is unavoidable, we suffer. The "pleasure" that we consistently use to avoid pain may begin to cause us suffering itself, as we see in the case of addictions (drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, sex, food, video-games, television, socializing, etc.) when a certain substance is used to either numb an emotion, or superficially induce one.

My question to Buddhists is, have you judged suffering as "bad," and if not, why do you wish to eliminate it?

It seems to me that suffering is simply another experience to be had, and with that point of view, what makes it "better" or "worse" than pain or pleasure?

If pain is not inherently "bad" and pleasure is not inherently "good", what is suffering? yuttadhammo states that it is not necessary to avoid pleasure nor pain, but to cease suffering. Why is ceasing suffering then, so important?

And are you not "attached" to the idea of Nirvana, and to cease suffering, when you base your whole life around Buddhist practice and meditation, like some people dedicate much of their time to exercise and eating healthy because of their "attachment" to the upkeep of a healthy body?


Also, isn't always seeking the "truth" and to "see reality as it really is" a sort of attachment also?

Thanks for reading
Peace and Respect
Sofie K.