How is the soul/skin being engulfed where suffering occurs purifies?
I don't wholly understand the mechanism behind it yet, but the majority of the world's cultures seem to be of the opinion that suffering is somehow necessary for personal development. Which admittedly seems odd to me, since the end game of spirituality is in ending suffering. Alchemical traditions within Christian and Muslim societies called it the
Nigredo, or "the black" in one of their three stages of development.
Why is suffering a necessary stage for personal development?? I don't fully know or understand yet, it's the current thing I'm studying, trying to understand why this idea of suffering as a necessary step has arisen cross-culturally.
But the question of the original post is why fire,
specifically, yes?? Why not another form or cause of suffering, but why is the idea of
fire used. Well, fire can symbolize transformation, hardships that cause the strengthening of a thing through purification. A symbol that can be seen again in the terminology of alchemical symbolism through the process of calcination or even just generally in a cross-cultural understanding that fire is a symbol of pain that can transform for the better, for example in the lyrics of
this excellent Indian folk metal song. Only after enduring the tests of fire iron is forged.
So I'd say if you want to symbolize suffering in a sense where the suffering can help or transform rather than just being nothing but suffering, the symbol of
fire works better than suffering through other means, such as cold or cutting or starvation or the like.