People sometimes complain that the Buddha focuses an awful lot on suffering. That's because he has a cure. If you had a cure for suffering, wouldn't you want to talk about it too?
The people who are afraid to talk about suffering: they're the ones who don't have a cure. They always try to cover things up, pretend it's not really that bad a situation: "This is the ordinary life that everybody lives, this is as good as it gets - so you might as well enjoy it, make the best of it." That's desperation.
The Buddha wasn't desperate. He was coming from a position of total freedom. He said "Look, if you really sit down and with the proper tools and the proper approach try to discern suffering, get to the point where you really comprehend it, and let go, you've solved all your problems in life."
So, who's pessimistic and who's optimistic? We might say that the Buddha's realistic, but realistic in a way that sees through all the problems the mind creates for itself. Once the mind isn't creating anymore problems for itself, you're free to go wherever you like.
From: The Bright Tunnel by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
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