This time we will talk about dukkha, which is often mistranslated as “suffering.”
Buddha introduced this in his “First Noble Truth: Life is dukkha” – unsatisfactory.
Dukkha indicates not satisfying, suffering, pain. The law of dukkha states that all complexes of phenomena – in other words, everything – is in the final analysis unsatisfactory, dukkha. This means that there is no thing or state that will bring lasting happiness. We all want happiness, and the kind of happiness we really want is happiness that lasts.
The Buddha didn't speak English. He lived in India 25 centuries ago. People forget this and can get stuck on the definitions of English words used in translations. But, remember, the Buddha didn't use the English word, "suffering." What he said is that life is dukkha.
"Dukkha" is a Pali word, a variation of Sanskrit, and it means a lot of things. For example, anything temporary is dukkha, including happiness.
Because there is no single English word that neatly and tidily contains the same range of meaning and connotation as "dukkha," I think it’s better not to translate it. Otherwise, you'll waste time spinning your wheels over a word that doesn't mean what the Buddha meant.
So, throw out "suffering," "stress," "dissatisfaction," and go back to "dukkha." Do this even if – especially if ‐‐ you don't understand what "dukkha" means.
Defining Dukkha:
The Buddha taught there are three main categories of dukkha. These are:
Suffering or pain
Impermanence or change
Conditioned states
Let's take these one at a time.
Suffering or Pain: Ordinary suffering is one form of dukkha. This includes physical, emotional and mental pain. This is easy to understand.
Impermanence or Change: Anything that is not permanent, that is subject to change, is dukkha. Thus, pleasure or in other words, mental happiness, is dukkha, because it is not permanent. Great success, which fades with the passing of time, is dukkha. Even the state of bliss experienced in spiritual practice is dukkha because it comes and goes. Everything that comes and goes is dukkha.
This doesn't mean that happiness, success, and bliss are bad, or that it's wrong to enjoy them. If you feel happy, then enjoy feeling happy. Just don't cling to it. Experience them fully, then let them go.
Conditioned States: To be conditioned is to be dependent on or affected by something else. According to the Buddhist teaching of dependent origination, all phenomena are conditioned since everything affects everything else. I never really can have free action since everything I do is affected by everything else. So all ordinary action is dukkha, since the actions were conditioned by something else, and not free. For some, this is a hard part of the teachings on dukkha to understand, but it is important in understanding what the Buddha learned and taught.
This conditioning is something that you can overcome with mindfulness.
Life Is Dukkha
The historical Buddha once summarized his own teachings this way:
"Both before and now, it is only dukkha that I describe, and the cessation of dukkha."
Buddhism will never be clearly understood unless you grasp the deeper meaning of dukkha. Note that Buddha talks about the cessation of dukkha. How can something that affects everything, dukkha, be overcome? We will talk about this more later.
VIDEO: ALAN WATTS, ON THE SECRET.