People have devised a wide variety of unskillful means to escape from suffering: external means such as magic, ritual, revenge, and force; internal means such as denial, repression, self-hatred, and prayer.

"Beings react to suffering in two ways: bewilderment and a search for a way out. If the conditions for suffering were not so complex, it would be the result of a simple, regular process that would not be so confusing. People would be able to understand it without any need for outside teachings. The fact of its actual complexity, however, explains why people find it bewildering and, as a result of their bewilderment, have devised a wide variety of unskillful means to escape from it: recourse to such external means as magic, ritual, revenge, and force; and to such internal means as denial, repression, self-hatred, and prayer."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "The Wings to Awakening: An Anthology from the Pali Canon"

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