pray?

yes

@0752532706 Yes.

For how long have we had these humanistic groups?

You are right.

There's still unspeakable misery and suffering in US, only that people in US pretend NOT to feel it. But it knocks them over and over--time to time...eventually they become so helpless like most of us.

@0752532706 I agree but feel there are still things we can do, like spreading information and taking stands. One of the hardest things I have found is to become open to new and controversial ideas and challenge others. Sometime things we do actually makes the problems worse. The old saying "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" applies all too often.

@snytiger6 you're close. The system I study teaches that ignorance (of the ultimate ground of being, that all is one) leads to the idea of separateness, then that leads to labelling things, then that leads to having likes and dislikes, then that leads to attachment, then that leads to suffering. (Basically. I'm simplifying and mangling it from memory; it's a 12-link chain.). It's not quite as simple as "get rid of desire", although there's nothing technically wrong with phrasing it that way. It's more about understanding how things work and being intentional with your awareness. Once you get a grip on the underlying ideas, you're more apt to start seeing things as--as they say--"skillful" or "unskillful". The whole path is about living as skillfully as possible which includes understanding that pain is inevitable, but suffering is a choice.

@stinkeye_a I guess my exposure was just the Americanized "fast food" version.

I would suspect hat the entire philosophy is much more rich in explanation and understanding.

I don't think desire is the root cause of suffering and extreme misery. I think,that's beyond our reality.

US presents itself as a country that harbours happiness and contentment only.