A way of the Hard Way

Q: You speak of the necessity to experience excruciating pain. Can an understanding of the unmasking process make it unnecessary to go through the pain?

I agree with the answer that was given. "Understanding does not mean that you actually do it; you just understand it." Just because you know the process of something doesn't mean you know exactly what it is. Experience is what life is. You have to experience things first hand rather than out of a book. Knowing something is different then experiencing it. As an RA I grew to learn that you should never say "I know what you mean." or " I know exactly how you feel." Because in reality you have no idea. You didn't experience the event that the person did you can only assume you understand it.

Experiencing somethings is the Hard Way. Many things are pleasurable and are hard to bare. But experiencing something is, in my opinion, the only way to become enlightened in a way. You can read thousands of books and listen to hundreds of stories, but if you don't experience anything, what's the point?