Suffering can make one more compassionate and empathetic. This is not to say that a wealthy person is necessarily without compassion, but someone born into wealth almost never experiences hardship and cannot appreciate others who have had to endure the slings and arrows.

It’s never a good idea to part with your money (I know from experience). Your money is your soul and without it you may as well die because life is meaningless without a soul.

Here is  a poem I wrote at the start of my journey and as I am nearing its end, it remains as true now as it was then:

  Behold, all that is humanity
  Is the purest cause of vanity.
  Who is the optimistic fool
  Who claims to have found the Golden Rule?

  What you are, you know you are
  So follow your own particular star.
  Beware of posturing prancers and dancers,
  And clever men who know all the answers.

And to my case, I too grew a lot in the last two years with my depression. If I could choose though, I’d have choosen not have learned anything.

Sorry for the bad English.

The question is, in what way does suffering ‘build’ your character. It definitely changes the way you live your life.
Take for instance people with permanent pain, which I think is harder to live with than grief. I speak out of experience: my father died when i was a kid (still a mystery, involving an unexpected suicide attempt), and i got arthritis and crohn’s disease. I would say, that I can speak about the death of my father without (too much) grief, but the physical suffering remains.
I think, the way you handle your pain ‘builds’ your character. Many people i know and see with obviously permanent pain – mostly older people with joint problems – act harsh and bitter in their environs. I also have to stop myself doing that in front of my girlfriend and others, from time to time, it is just an involuntary reaction, and not easy to detect, even with training in mindful living.
In so far i also hold the top statement for wrong, that ‘suffering’ trains you in living with your suffering. The kind of people i mentioned normally suffer more than necessary, and it is hard to ‘distract’ them from their secondary suffering – the self-pity. It arises quite naturally and will bother you especially when acting with others. I myself hate this feeling – creating more grief.. – but it is part of the character i have built so far. Always working on it.

and to susan: yes, self-esteem is an ingredient, but may also be a product of a life with hardship.

With more thought I don’t know of anyone who is better for having suffered. I think mourning might be necessary but suffering is not and that both are a matter of choice. I quite frankly have suffered but will not do it ever again, and don’t recommend it.

Bill Cosby chose not to suffer when his son was killed. He mourned I am sure but got back to his life and his work in a reasonable amount of time. I admire him for his not letting suffering enter his life.

And yes, I think the healthier one’s self-esteem is the less likely you will allow yourself to suffer. Look at all the loss the Kennedy family has endured but you don’t catch them suffering.

And needless to say I disagree wholeheartedly with the earlier statement that says suffering is “the routine nature of life.” That says we are doomed to suffer.

In my thinking one can start to suffer and one can stop it if they know it is indeed a choice and you can be in control. One can think of what is best for you and your life.