Dukkha & Samsara

Dukkha represents the Buddha’s view of life and the world. The Buddhist image of life as ‘unsubstantial as the pith of a plantain tree’, describes dukkha. There are many words that can explain dukkha including pain, dissatisfaction, anxiety, misery, frustration, grief, etc; however it is not directly translatable into English. Philosophers have chosen ‘suffering’ as the best explanation. Dukkha has deeper meanings and connotes enormously wider senses. The word ‘dukkha’ comes from the words ‘du’ meaning ill-fitting and ‘cakka’ meaning wheel, referring to a badly fitted chariot wheel.

Dukkha plays a very important role in Buddhist literature. Firstly, dukkha is the first Noble Truth that tells us that everything is suffering. Buddhists believe that everything in nature leads to suffering. Birth and death is suffering, ageing and decay is suffering, sorrow and lamentation is suffering, pain and grief is suffering, craving and not getting what one wants is suffering. Basically, dukkha teaches us that when people fail to see the transitory nature or when people are attached to something changes, this leads to suffering. Dukkha also includes deeper ideas such as ‘imperfection’, ‘emptiness’, ‘insubstantiality’ and that people are unable to let go of their cravings and desires which are the factors that mainly cause suffering. In Buddhism, it is believed that everything that exists in the ordinary world is conditioned, impermanent, causes suffering and is interdependent with everything else. That means nothing in this life is permanent and so when it does change it leaves behind suffering. And therefore, dukkha is also a gateway to anatta. Indian views the world as an endless cycle of birth, growth, decay and death which makes the prospect of dukkha much more depressing. Buddhists feel that the truth of dukkha is undeniable to anyone who exists in the world. Surprisingly, happiness is also considered as dukkha because it also comes to an end.

Dukkha can be viewed...