Dukkha
Dukkha (
Pāli दुक्ख ; according to grammatical tradition from
Sanskrit ' "uneasy", but according to Monier-Williams more likely a Prakritized form of ' "unsteady, disquieted") is a central concept in
Buddhism, the word roughly corresponding to a number of terms in English including sorrow,
suffering, affliction,
pain,
anxiety, dissatisfaction, discomfort, anguish, stress, misery, and aversion. The word frustration is probably a better synonym than suffering. The term is probably derived from duḥstha, "standing badly," "unsteady," "uneasy."
In classic Sanskrit, the term
dukkha was often compared to a large potter's wheel that would screech as it was spun around, and did not turn smoothly. The opposite of
dukkha was the term
sukkha which brought to mind a potter's wheel that turned smoothly and noiselessly. In other Buddhist-influenced cultures, similar imagery was used to describe
dukkha. An example from China is the cart with one wheel that is slightly broken, so that the rider is jolted now and again as the wheel rolls over the broken spot.
In the same manner Buddhists believe that life isn't constant suffering, but rather that suffering is unavoidable. A person could have a good life when some unexpected tragedy could occur to jar that person, or dukkha could arise simply because one isn't satisfied with one's life.
Dukkha is the focus of the
Four Noble Truths, including the first:
There is suffering.The other three Noble Truths explain the source of
dukkha, the means of transforming it, and the method of executing its cessation. This method is known as the
Noble Eightfold Path.
Siddartha Gautama, the Buddha repeatedly stated that the
only purpose of Buddhism is to seek the cessation of
dukkha, by understanding the Four Noble Truths and acting accordingly.
The Buddha discussed three kinds of dukkha.
* Dukkha-dukkha (pain of pain) is the obvious sufferings of :# physical pain# illness# old age# death# the loss of a loved one.
* Viparinama-dukkha (pain of alteration) is suffering caused by change: # violated expectations# the failure of happy moments to last
* Sankhara-dukkha (pain of formation) is a subtle form of suffering inherent in the nature of conditioned things, including the #
skandhas# the factors constituting the human mind
It denotes the experience that all formations (sankhara) are impermanent (
anicca) - thus it explains the qualities which make the mind as fluctuating and impermanent entities. It is therefore also a gateway to
anatta, selflessness (no-self).
Dukkha is also listed among the
three marks of existence.
* At
Access to Insight:**
entry on Dukkha
