There is no one English word which fully conveys the true
meaning of dukkha. Dukkha has been often translated into English as
"suffering", but it means more than this.The literal meaning of the
word is DU (difficult) and KHA (endure), i.e. that which is difficult to
endure. The English words which come close to the meaning are: suffering,
imperfection, impermanence, insubstantiality, unsatisfactoriness, inadequacy,
uncontrollability, incompleteness, separation, the desire to become something
other than what one is.
There are three kinds of dukkha:
1. Dukkha dukkha : which means straightforward suffering as
the word is generally understood, for example the suffering caused by birth,
old age, sickness and death. It also means the more subtle discomfort we
experience as a result of petty disagreements, fits of anger, jealousy and
other negative mental states. "Association with the unpleasant is
suffering". This means being stuck in situations we do not enjoy, like
being jammed into the tube during the rush hour, or caught by a very boring
person at a party and and having to listen to all sorts of things which do not
interest us.
"Dissociation from the pleasant is dukkha. Not to get
what one wants is dukkha". If there is something which we want very much
but cannot have, then we experience a feeling of unease or dissatisfaction -
that is a form of dukkha. Even when we get something that we want very much, we
may still feel a vague sense of incompleteness or that something is missing. We
may want the perfect day never to end, and this vague form of dissatisfaction
is dukkha. The feeling of wanting to hold onto something, not wanting to be
separated from it. We may be searching for a spiritual teacher, and when we
eventually find someone we respect, then we want him or her to be perfect. If
he turns out not to be perfect, then we feel dissatisfaction, even perhaps
disillusionment.
2. Viparinama dukkha : which means the suffering caused by
change. It is a fundamental principle of the Buddha's teaching that everything
is impermanent. His last words were, "Impermanent are all conditioned
things". There is nothing in this world which is permanent. Everything is
subject to change - only the rate of change varies. The Pali word is A-nicca (not
permanent). Some things change quickly - a bubble bursts after only a few
seconds; some things change slowly - rocks may take thousands of years to waste
away, but there is nothing which lasts forever. However, it is the nature of
the mind to seek after things which are permanent, and when we find that they
are changing, this causes us to experience dukkha. (Yad aniccam tad dukkham -
whatever is impermanent, that is dukkha). New possessions, such as new shoes,
may give us pleasure to begin with, but after a while they deteriorate and we
experience dissatisfaction. Our shiny new car will eventually rust away.
Friendships may fade; our bodies will wear out. This fundamental condition of
change is unavoidable, yet it causes us much dukkha. It is not the change
itself, but our resistance to it which is the problem. In fact we should
welcome change - otherwise we could not even boil an egg. This is a much more
subtle form of dukkha; it is not the gross dukkha of old age, sickness and
death.
The Buddha said we should understand three things with regard to the
pleasures of life. They are:-
1. Attraction (assada)
2. The evil consequence or unsatisfactoriness (adinava)
3. Freedom or liberation (nissarana) Enjoyment causes
attachment, which is dangerous because it is subject to impermanence. If one
can overcome attachment, that is relief.
For example, we may enjoy the company of a friend. We want
to see that person as much as possible. This is assada. But there may come a
time when this enjoyment is no longer possible; perhaps we cannot see that
person or we think that the person's attractive qualities have changed. This is
adinava. If, however, we can become free from attractions like this, then we
have achieved detachment - nissarana .The first two kinds of dukkha do not
completely exclude the possibilities of happiness, e.g. association with the
pleasant, and dissociation from the unpleasant, to get what one wants. But at
the third level, suffering is a part of the fabric of existence. Even though we
are more affluent today, still this kind of dukkha remains. Dukkha cannot be
eradicated by increasing affluence, although some of the more straightforward
kinds may be.
3. Sankhara dukkha : which means the suffering of
conditioned states. What does this mean? We must look in detail at the Buddha's
ideas of what constitutes a person. When we are speaking in terms of
conventional truth, we talk about a being or a person, but in ultimate truth
the Buddha defined an individual as 5 aggregates. He taught that we are no more
than a temporary and ever-changing combination of physical and mental forces.
He called these "aggregates" (khandas) and there are five of these:-
*Rupa - matter
*Vedana - feelings
*Sanna - perception
*Sankhara - mental formations, constructing activities
*Vinnana - consciousness.
The first aggregate, matter or form, comprises the Four
Great Elements ( pathavi, apo, tejo, vayo; solidity/expansion,
fluidity/cohesion, heat/temperature/maturity and motion/ displacement; or
earth, water, fire and air). In each case one element predominates, but the
other three are also present to a lesser degree.This aggregate also comprises
the Derivative Forms of the Great Elements, these are the 5 material sense
organs (the faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue and body) and their
corresponding objects in the sense world (form, sound, odour, taste, tangible
objects, and thoughts). The second aggregate, feeling, includes all sensations,
which may be classified as bodily pleasant/unpleasant, mentally pleasant/
unpleasant or neutral, and which are experienced as a result of contact between
our five physical sense organs and the mind with the external world. All
physical and mental sensations are included here. The third aggregate,
perception, is also of six kinds which are connected to the six internal faculties
and their six external objects. Like feeling, perception is produced by the
contact of our six faculties with the external world. It is perception which
recognises whether an object is physical or mental. Sanna processes all sensory
and mental objects; it classifies and labels them, for example as the colour
yellow, or a dog or an abstract quality such as anger. The fourth aggregate,
mental formations includes all volitional actions, i.e. all actions which are
performed as a result of will or volition. It is these mental formations which
initiate action and which shape character. It is actions of this kind which
produce kamma. There are 52 cetasikas, mental concomitants; two of these are
sensation and perception which are not volitional actions and do not produce
kamma. The remaining 50 are included in this aggregate. Volitional actions
include attention (manasikara), will (chanda), determination (adhimokkha), joy,
faith (saddha), concentration (samadhi), wisdom (panna), energy (viriya),
passion (raga), hatred, illwill (patigha), ignorance (avijja), conceit (mana),
and self-view (sakkaya- ditthi). The fifth aggregate, consciousness, is the
receptacle for the 52 mental factors and is the result of contact between one
of the six sense faculties (eye, ear, etc.) with one of the corresponding six
external phenomena (visible form, sound, etc.) For example, contact between the
eye and visible form gives rise to visual consciousness. Without this contact,
no consciousness can arise. Very important point. Consciousness does not exist
independently of this contact. There is no such thing as pure consciousness
existing by itself. A good analogy is like fire. Fire cannot exist by itself;
it can only exist as a wood fire, a coal fire, etc. Similarly consciousness can
only exist as visual consciousness, auditory consciousness, etc. Sense objects
cannot be experienced without the appropriate kind of consciousness.
Consciousness has no independent existence - even thoughts and ideas depend on
contact.
What we call a "being" or an
"individual" is only a convenient label which we give to describe this
combination of aggregates. The Buddha taught that there is no such thing as a
solid being, but only these five aggregates. Individual like a burning fire or
flowing stream, not a solid vessel for holding experience or an unmoving slate
on which perceptions are written. The Buddha said very clearly, "The 5
aggregates of clinging are suffering", and in another place, "As the
aggregates arise, decay and die, O monk, so from moment to moment you are born,
decay and die." Strictly speaking, what Buddhism calls the individual is
not the five aggregates, but the five aggregates when they are grasped or
appropriated. This explains why in the Buddhist definition of suffering, the
reference is made to the aggregates of grasping and not to the aggregates
themselves. The 5 khandhas are not suffering, but when we grasp them, then
dukkha arises. The so-called individual can thus be reduced to a causally
conditioned process of grasping. And it is this process of grasping that Buddhism
describes as suffering. Hence the Buddhist conclusion is that life, at its very
bottom or core, is characterized by suffering." By whom are the five
aggregates grasped? Besides the process of grasping, there is no agent who
performs the act of grasping.
This may appear rather paradoxical, nevertheless it is
understandable in the context of the Buddhist doctrine of anatta and the
Buddhist doctrine of dependent origination. What both seek to show is that the
individual is a conditioned process, without an agent either inside or outside
the process. This process of grasping manifests itself in three ways/
misconceptions: This is mine (etam mama) ; this I am (esoham asmi) ; and this
is myself (eso me atta) . This first is due to craving (tanha) ; the second is
due to conceit (mana); and the third is due to the mistaken belief in a
self-entity (ditthi). It is through this process of three-fold
self-identification that the idea of "mine", "I am" and
"my self" arises. If there is a thing called individuality in its
samsaric dimension, it is entirely due to the superimposition on the five
aggregates of these three ideas. The grasping is inherent in the khandhas,
there is no one to do the grasping. This act of self-identification is itself
suffering.We are identifying with a process which is itself in constant flux.
(Yad aniccam tam dukkham). "What we call 'I' or 'being' is only a
combination of physical and mental aggregates, which are working together
interdependently in a flux of momentary change within the law of cause and
effect, and there is nothing permanent, everlasting, unchanging and eternal in
the whole of existence."
Dukkha is a dynamic process which is suffering by virtue of
being uncontrollable, ever-changing, and therefore inadequate and unsatisfying.
Dukkha is a subtle but unavoidable part of the human condition and it is very
important that we try to understand this as it is so central to the Buddha's
teachings.You may also appreciate why it is so difficult to translate this word
into English and why to use the word "suffering" is rather
misleading. That is why it is often left untranslated. Dukkha on an everyday
level - failures, frustration, missed opportunity, irksome routine, petty
irritations. It is all right to use "suffering" provided we know it is
only shorthand for something wider and deeper. There is only one problem in the
world - that of dukkha. All other problems, known and unknown, are included in
this one which is universal. "
May all beings be well and happy & attains the fruits of
Nibbana.
Suranda Weediyage
BA, Tripitakachariya, Dip in Pali/ Buddhism (Pali & Buddhist University of Sri Lanka), HNDBF,
surandalk@gmail.com
http://www.thebuddhadhamma.wordpress.com
