Fifth Site of Suffering

   In my opinion, Buddha would likely see poverty as a possible fifth site. He would probably see that a major part of the world suffers from poverty and that would likely convince him to add it to the four sites of suffering since it does exist enough that people would be affected.

   I believe that Buddha would likely see it as a fifth site for a number of reasons. One is that over 85% of the population lives in poverty or sub standard conditions. Since this affects more then half of the world likely it could be considered a part of life. In Canada even 15% of the population lives in poverty or sub standard conditions. Every country on earth has some degree of poverty no matter how rich they are. People need to be made aware of this serious suffering since it is more easily preventable then the other four sites of suffering. We could prevent this in many different ways. One way is to low the cost of living by seeking more affordable ways to allow people to get the necessities of life. A second way is to increase minimum wage by a decent amount so people can afford needed supplies. A final way is to reduce taxes on the less wealthy people so they can save their money. In conclusion, this is way I believe that Buddha would see poverty as a possible fifth site since it is very wide spread and many people suffer from it. He may also see that it is preventable unlike the others.