Buddhist Viewpoint of Dukkha

A prominent aspect of the Buddha’s teachings is the Four Noble Truths. If we fail to understand these truths, then we keep going round in the cycle of birth and death (saṃsāra). No one is free from this suffering without completely understanding the Four Noble Truths. They are:

The Noble Truth of Suffering (Dukkha-Sacca)

The Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering (Samudaya-Sacca)

The Noble Truth of the End of Suffering (Nirodha-Sacca)

The Noble Truth of the Path leading to the End of Suffering (Magga-Sacca).

The Pāḷi word “Dukkha” has generally been translated as suffering, misery or un-satisfactoriness, but the term “dukkha” as used in the Four Noble Truths has a deeper and wider meaning. It contains not only the ordinary meaning as mentioned above, but also includes imperfection, pain, impermanence, disharmony, discomfort or irritation. By all means, Dukkha includes physical and mental suffering: birth, decay, disease, death, to be united with the unpleasant, to be separated from the pleasant, and not to get what one desires, even the existence of the five aggregates. Even during the moments of joy and happiness, there is dukkhabecause these states of happiness are conditioned by other factors and are impermanent. Therefore, the truth of dukkha encompasses the whole of existence, in our happiness and sorrow, in every aspect of our lives. As long as we live, we are very profoundly subjected to this truth.

Some people might have supposed that the life in Buddhist point of view is dukkha is rather pessimistic. This is in fact not a pessimistic but a realistic way of living. If one is suffering from a disease and refuses to recognise the fact that one is ill, and refuses to seek for treatment then he definitely will be die sooner or later. Some say that the life is joyful, delighted and full of happiness so they try to indulgence as much as he can. But in Buddhist viewpoint, by being either optimistic or pessimistic, one does not really understand the nature of life, and is therefore unable to tackle life’s problems in the right perspective.

There are three kinds of Dukkha:

- Dukkha-Dukkha: physical and mental pain.

- Saṇkhāra-Dukkha: The pain of constant physical and mental changes.

- Viparināma-Dukkha: The pain of dissolution and arising of nāma and rūpa.

While there is every reason to feel glad when one experiences happiness, one should not cling to these happy states or be side-tracked and forget about working one’s way to complete liberation.