I think of it as more aspirational. Many people confuse pleasure-seeking with happiness, and are left empty and miserable. However you choose to respond to suffering, be it acceptance or by actively seeking to eliminate its causes, I think peace can only be found in relation to suffering. And peace is a major component of one’s ultimate happiness.

“Happiness is just an absence of sufferings.”

“Love is the absence of judgment.”

Those quotes are attributed to Dalai Lama. Whether or not they are attributed correctly to him, I think they hold truth.