Within Tendai thought, suffering is understood through the comprehensive vision of reality articulated in the Lotus Sūtra and Tiantai doctrine. Suffering is not treated as something wholly separate from enlightenment, but as one mode within the total field of experience described by the principle of “three thousand realms in a single moment of life” (ichinen sanzen). Every moment of mind includes all realms, from hell to Buddhahood, so even the most painful states are not outside the scope of awakening. In this way, suffering is recognized as conventionally real and ethically serious, yet never cut off from the presence and possibility of Buddhahood.

This vision is grounded in the teaching of original enlightenment (hongaku), which holds that all beings already possess Buddhahood. From this perspective, suffering is a distorted functioning of an originally enlightened mind rather than evidence of some ultimate flaw or sin. The path, therefore, is not simply to flee suffering, but to awaken to the true nature that is already present within it. Suffering and enlightenment are seen as intimately connected, two aspects of a single reality rather than absolute opposites.

Tendai further clarifies this through the doctrine of the three truths: emptiness, conventional existence, and the middle. Suffering is empty in that it lacks any fixed, independent essence; at the same time, it is experienced as concretely real and must be addressed with compassion and ethical responsibility. The middle truth holds these together, refusing both to deny suffering and to absolutize it. Precisely because suffering is conditioned and empty, it can become the dynamic field in which wisdom and compassion are cultivated.

In light of the Lotus Sūtra’s teaching on skillful means (upāya), Tendai also regards the difficulties of samsaric life as potential catalysts for awakening. What appear as harsh or painful conditions can function as expedient means through which beings are led toward realization. No realm, not even the deepest hell, lies outside the promise of Buddhahood, and thus suffering is never final or absolute. It becomes, instead, the very ground upon which the inherent Buddha-nature of all beings can be recognized and actualized.