Hell is no fable

"“To exist is to suffer,” taught the Buddha, and we have devised ingenious ways of escaping existence. We sense a futility in our dreams; an inner voice chides us for yearning for goals we can’t achieve. We often have an empty feeling when we hold in our hands something we have fought for, wondering why we wanted it. All around we see loneliness, surd hatreds, and pointless sadisms. Mephistopheles speaks for many: “Hell is no fable, for this life IS hell.” Away from all this, we are pulled toward death, as though it would be a blessing to have done with it."