1. Sorrow Is Everywhere

World Scripture

The Noble Truth of Suffering (Dukkha) is this: Birth is suffering; aging is suffering; sickness is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow and lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering; association with the unpleasant is suffering; dissociation from the pleasant is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering—in brief, the five aggregates of attachment are suffering.²⁶
Samyutta Nikaya 56.11 (Buddhism)

Affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground; but man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.
Job 5.6-7

This world, become ablaze, by touch of sense afflicted, utters its own lament. Whatever conceit one has, therein is instability. Becoming other, bound to becoming, yet in becoming it rejoices. Delight therein is fear, and what it fears is Ill.
Udana 32 (Buddhism)

Brothers, all is burning. And what is the all that is burning? Brothers, the eye is burning, visible forms are burning, visual consciousness is burning, visual impression is burning, also whatever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither-painful- nor-pleasant, arises on account of the visual impression, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion; I say it is burning with birth, aging, and death, with sorrows, with lamentations, with pains, with griefs, with despairs.
The ear is burning, sounds are burning, auditory consciousness is burning… Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion; I say it is burning with birth, aging, and death, with sorrows, with lamentations, with pains, with griefs, with despairs. The nose is burning, odors are burning… The tongue is burning, flavors are burning… The body is burning, tangible things are burning, tactile consciousness is burning… The mind is burning, thoughts are burning… Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion; I say it is burning with birth, aging, and death, with sorrows, with lamentations, with pains, with griefs, with despairs.
Samyutta Nikaya 35.28: The Fire Sermon (Buddhism)

Farid, I thought I alone had sorrow; Sorrow is spread all over the whole world. From my roof-top I saw Every home engulfed in sorrow’s flames.
Adi Granth, Shalok, Farid, p. 1382 (Sikhism)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Humanity lost the original garden and fell into the world of death. There, we struggle against the darkness. We live in the midst of lamentation and hopelessness, entrapped in the power of the enemy. Still, in our conscience, the remnant of the original mind, we long for the original homeland.
(6:291, June 14, 1959)

The world we live in is not a joyful world but a miserable world; it is not a world of delight but a world of sorrow; it is not a world where people live with gratitude but a world where people live with grudges. If you cannot overcome this unfortunate world, then you will never find the path to happiness.

How can you know that you are unhappy? You can understand it through your mind. In your mind, is there a grieving heart that you cannot get rid of? This is proof that Satan is our ancestor. Do you have hatred and resentment toward other people? This is like Satan entangling our minds in steel nets to prevent us from going toward the original Garden of Eden.

Human beings are living in the world of death where there is no life, the world of despair and pitch darkness. Although human beings should be singing of the preciousness of life and living in harmony with God’s eternal ideal, people today are living in despair. They are cut off from the hope of standing before the ideal of God.
(2:246, June 9, 1957)

We are surrounded by evil elements. The way to evil does not need to be taught. Everyone can go that way without education, because history started from an evil foundation. Does anyone need to be taught how to be bad? Because humans fell by their own decision, society educates people to act according to their conscience based on the prevailing morality. Even so, how many people are able to live in accordance with that education? Evil things can be done without education; anyone can score 100 points.

The conscience always tells us to be good people, but have we actually become good? Unable to solve this problem, our life is one of continual lamentation. Today is lamentation, tomorrow is lamentation, and the whole year is lamentation. Youth is lamentation, middle age is lamentation, old age is lamentation, and we die with lamentation. Evil marks our whole life.
(36:57, November 15, 1970)

Due to the Human Fall, history started from a point of sadness. The saddest thing about the starting point was that we had to leave God. God was to be the source of our happiness and the center of our life, His grace pervading everything. Due to the Fall, however, humankind lost happiness, life and all things. People fell into deep despair, darkness, and unhappiness.

Having lost any vision or hope, tears filled their eyes. With those tears came despair, and utter darkness.
(52:36, December 12, 1971)