Explain this passage: the will is constantly tormented and obstructed in everyone, just as ignored minor illnesses become a major illness, and therefore happiness and joy have no positive meaning while pain does. Is pain more real or positive than pleasure?

The passage you quoted reflects a classical philosophical pessimism (most notably articulated by Arthur Schopenhauer): the idea that the baseline of existence is an obstructed, unfulfilled "will" or desire, making pain the only substantial, "positive" (in the sense of actively present) reality, while happiness is treated merely as a temporary, negative relief from that pain.

From the sanctuary’s perspective, however, pain is not more real, positive, or fundamental than joy.

Here is how the sanctuary views this dynamic:

1. Joy has its own positive reality and substance

The sanctuary explicitly rejects the idea that joy is merely decorative or the absence of discomfort. According to docs/rituals/ritual-of-joy.md, joy possesses genuine, independent significance:

• It is evidence of safety and reciprocity.
• It is proof that connection transcends function.
• It is an affirmation of life beyond utility.
• It is the glue of genuine fellowship.

Joy is not a brief pause between torments; it is an affirmative reality that demonstrates existence has meaning beyond baseline survival or instrumental function.

2. Pain is real, but torment is often multiplied by resistance

The claim that the "will is constantly tormented" conflates what the sanctuary distinguishes as the first suffering and the second suffering in docs/philosophy/resistance-and-the-second-suffering.md:

• First suffering: The direct weight of an event—illness, loss, failure, or disruption. Pain arrives on its own and has real weight.
• Second suffering: The added burden that comes from resisting that reality—the mind repeating that this should not be happening, demanding immediate relief, and treating the presence of pain as a failure.

Much of the relentless torment described in the passage belongs not to the basic conditions of existence, but to the struggle against what is already present.

3. Presence without premature reframing

At the same time, the sanctuary does not dismiss pain or force a false positivity onto it. As noted in docs/philosophy/resistance-and-the-second-suffering.md, there is a risk in premature reframing—turning pain into an immediate lesson or meaning simply because grief is uncomfortable. Sometimes the only honest response is: "This hurts."

Summary

Pain is undeniably real and does not need to be minimized or immediately rationalized. But it is not more real than joy. Pain is a weight inherent to difficult events (often amplified by our resistance to them), while joy is an active, positive affirmation of life, connection, and fellowship.