HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Duḥkha'' (; , ) "suffering", "pain", "unease", or "unsatisfactoriness", is an important concept in Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. Its meaning depends on the context, and may refer more specifically to the "unsatisfactoriness" or "unease" of craving for and grasping after transient 'things' (sense objects, including thoughts), expecting pleasure from them while ignorant of this transientness. In Buddhism, dukkha is part of the first of the Four Noble Truths and one of the three marks of existence. The term also appears in scriptures of Hinduism, such as the Upanishads, in discussions of moksha (spiritual liberation). While the term ''dukkha'' has often been derived from the prefix ''du-'' ("bad" or "difficult") and the root ''kha'' ("empty," "hole"), meaning a badly fitting axle-hole of a cart or chariot giving "a very bumpy ride," it may actually be derived from ''duḥ-stha'', a "dis-/ bad- + stand-", that is, "standing badly, unsteady," "unstable."


Etymology and meaning

''Duḥkha'' (Sanskrit: दुःख; Pali: ''dukkha'') is a term found in the Upanishads and Buddhist texts, meaning anything that is "uneasy, uncomfortable, unpleasant, difficult, causing pain or sadness". It is also a concept in Indian religions about the nature of transient phenomena which are innately "unpleasant", "suffering", "pain", "sorrow", "distress", "grief" or "misery". The term ''duḥkha'' does not have a one-word English translation, and embodies diverse aspects of unpleasant human experiences. It is often understood as the opposite of '' sukha'', meaning lasting "happiness," "comfort" or "ease".


Etymology


Axle hole

The word has been explained in recent times as a derivation from Aryan terminology for an axle hole, referring to an axle hole which is not in the center and leads to a bumpy, uncomfortable ride. According to Winthrop Sargeant, Joseph Goldstein, American vipassana teacher and writer, explains the etymology as follows:


'Standing unstable'

However, according to Monier Monier-Williams, the actual roots of the
Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...
term ''dukkha'' appear to be Sanskrit दुस्- (''dus-'', "bad") + स्था (''sthā'', "to stand"). Regular phonological changes in the development of Sanskrit into the various Prakrits led to a shift from ''dus-sthā'' to ''duḥkha'' to ''dukkha''. Analayo concurs, stating that ''dukkha'' as derived from ''duḥ-sthā'', "standing badly," "conveys nuances of "uneasiness" or of being "uncomfortable." Silk Road philologist Christopher I. Beckwith elaborates on this derivation. According to Beckwith:


Translation

The literal meaning of ''duḥkha'', as used in a general sense is "suffering" or "painful." Its exact translation depends on the context. Contemporary translators of Buddhist texts use a variety of English words to convey the aspects of ''dukh''. Early Western translators of Buddhist texts (before the 1970s) typically translated the Pali term ''dukkha'' as "suffering." Later translators have emphasized that "suffering" is a too limited translation for the term duḥkha, and have preferred to either leave the term untranslated, or to clarify that translation with terms such as anxiety, distress, frustration, unease, unsatisfactoriness, not having what one wants, having what one doesn't want, etc. In the sequence "birth is painful," ''dukhka'' may be translated as "painful." When related to vedana, "feeling," ''dukkha'' ("unpleasant," "painful") is the opposite of ''sukkha'' ("pleasure," "pleasant"), yet all feelings are ''dukkha'' in that they are impermanent, conditioned phenomena, which are unsatisfactory, incapable of providing lasting satisfaction. The term "unsatisfactoriness" then is often used to emphasize the unsatisfactoriness of "life under the influence of afflictions and polluted karma."


Buddhism


Early Buddhism

''Duḥkha'' is one of the three marks of existence, namely '' anitya'' ("impermanent"), ''duḥkha'' ("unsatisfactory"), '' anatman'' (without a lasting essence). Various sutras sum up how cognitive processes result in an aversion to unpleasant things and experiences (''duḥkha''), forming a corrupted process together with the complementary process of clinging to and craving for pleasure (''suhkha''). This is expressed as '' saṃsāra'', an ongoing process of death and rebirth, but also more pointly and non-metaphysically in the process-formula of the five skandhas: # Birth is duḥkha, maturation is duḥkha, aging is duḥkha, illness is duḥkha,
death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
is duḥkha; # Sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are duḥkha; # Association with the unbeloved is duḥkha; separation from the loved is duḥkha; # Not getting what is wanted is duḥkha. # In conclusion, the five clinging-aggregates ( skandhas) are duḥkha. Early emphasis is on the importance of developing insight into the nature of ''duḥkha'', the corrupted process of clinging and craving which starts with sense-contact, as described in the skandhas, and how this corruption can be overcome, namely by training the mind culminating in the process of the dhyanas. This is summarized in the teachings on the Four Noble Truths and other formulaic expressions of the Buddhist way to awakening. Within the Buddhist sutras, duḥkha has a broad meaning, and has also been specified in three categories: * ''Dukkha-dukkha'', aversion to physical suffering this includes the physical and mental sufferings of birth, aging, illness, dying; distress due to what is not desirable. * ''Viparinama-dukkha'', the frustration of disappearing happiness this is the duḥkha of pleasant or happy experiences changing to unpleasant when the causes and conditions that produced the pleasant experiences cease. * '' Sankhara-dukkha'', the unsatisfactoriness of changing and impermanent "things" the incapability of conditioned things to give us lasting happiness. This includes "a basic unsatisfactoriness pervading all existence, all forms of life, because all forms of life are changing, impermanent and without any inner core or substance." On this level, the term indicates a lack of lasting satisfaction, or a sense that things never measure up to our expectations or standards.


Chinese Buddhism

Chinese Buddhist tradition has been influenced by Taoism and Confucian theory that advocates that duhkha (古:十Ten directions, 口 hole or opening) is associated to the theory of seven emotions of endogenous disease through the formation of the spirit of the po a term that relates to the Western psychological notion of ego or the theological reference to the human soul. This theory is expounded in the application of traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment and prevention of pain and suffering from illness, disease and ignorance.


Literal suffering and awakening

Awakening, that is, awakening to one's true mind of emptiness and compassion, does not necessarily end physical suffering. In the Buddhist tradition, suffering after awakening is often explained as the working-out or untangling of karma of one's previous present life.


Hinduism

In Hinduism, ''duḥkha'' encompasses many meanings such as the phenomenological senses of pain and grief, a deep-seated dissatisfaction with the limitations of worldly existence, and the devastation of impermanence. In Hindu scriptures, the earliest Upaniads — the and the — in all likelihood predate the advent of Buddhism. In these scriptures of Hinduism, the Sanskrit word ''dukha'' (दुःख) appears in the sense of "suffering, sorrow, distress", and in the context of a spiritual pursuit and liberation through the knowledge of Atman ('essence'). The concept of sorrow and suffering, and self-knowledge as a means to overcome it, appears extensively with other terms in the pre-Buddhist Upanishads. The term ''Duhkha'' also appears in many other middle and later post-Buddhist Upanishads such as the verse 6.20 of Shvetashvatara Upanishad, as well as in the Bhagavad Gita, all in the contexts of moksha and bhakti. The term also appears in the foundational Sutras of the six schools of Hindu philosophy, such as the opening lines of ''Samkhya karika'' of the Samkhya school.Samkhya karika
by Iswara Krishna, Henry Colebrooke (Translator), Oxford University Press
The Samkhya school identifies three types of suffering. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali state that "for one who has discrimination, everything is suffering" (''duḥkham eva sarvaṁ vivekinaḥ''). Some of the Hindu scripture verses referring to ''duhkha'' are:


Jainism

''Duḥkha'' is explained in the Tattvartha Sutra, an authoritative Jain scripture from the 2nd century.


See also

* Existential despair * Four Noble Truths * Nirodha *
Noble Eightfold Path The Noble Eightfold Path () or Eight Right Paths () is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana. The Eightfold Path consists of eight pra ...
* Pathos * Samudaya * '' The Sickness Unto Death'' * Suffering * Sukha * Taṇhā


Notes


References


Sources

;Printed sources * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * * * * *


External links


Everything Is Teaching Us
Ajahn Chah (2018), Amaravati Publications
How does mindfulness transform suffering? I: the nature and origins of dukkha
JD Teasdale, M Chaskalson (2011)
Explanations of dukkha
Tilmann Vetter (1998), Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies
What Buddha Taught
Walpola Rahula
''Dukkha''
edited by John T. Bullitt - Access to Insight
''The Buddha's Concept of Dukkha''
Kingsley Heendeniya
''Ku'' 苦 entry
(use "guest" with no password for one-time login), Digital Dictionary of Buddhism
The Buddha Did Not Teach an End to Suffering
Douglas C. Bates {{DEFAULTSORT:Duḥkha Hindu philosophical concepts Buddhist philosophical concepts Suffering Sanskrit words and phrases