- Suffering arises when one does not get what one desires. 

Fame, power, position, family, wealth, etc., are all desired by people, but frequently they are unobtainable. To seek but not to get something is suffering. 

After getting the desired object, one wishes not to lose it; or, if one has trouble with it, one hopes to get rid of it but cannot.

The sūtra says, "If what one seeks is not obtained, one will suffer as if being shot by an arrow."