Dukkha is more than suffering.
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Classical Liberal
Embrace the suffering lightly, understand the issue, accept it and change accordingly to lead life positively.
Dukkha: What the Buddha Meant by 'Life Is Suffering'
https://www.learnreligions.com/life-is-suffering-what-does-that-mean-450094
By Barbara O'Brien
Updated September 09, 2018
The Buddha didn't speak English. This should be obvious since the historical Buddha lived in India almost 26 centuries ago. Yet it's a point lost on many people who get stuck on the definitions of English words used in translations.
For example, people want to argue with the first of the Four Noble Truths, often translated as "life is suffering." That sounds so negative.
Remember, the Buddha didn't speak English, so he didn't use the English word, "suffering." What he said, according to the earliest scriptures, is that life is dukkha.
What Does 'Dukkha' Mean?
"Dukkha" is Pali, a variation of Sanskrit, and it means a lot of things. For example, anything temporary is dukkha, including happiness. But some people can't get past that English word "suffering" and want to disagree with the Buddha because of it.
Some translators are chucking out "suffering" and replacing it with "dissatisfaction" or "stress." Sometimes translators bump into words that have no corresponding words meaning exactly the same thing in the other language. "Dukkha" is one of those words.
Understanding dukkha, however, is critical to understanding the Four Noble Truths, and the Four Noble Truths are the foundation of Buddhism.
Filling in the Blank
Because there is no single English word that neatly and tidily contains the same range of meaning and connotation as "dukkha," 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," or whatever other English word is standing in for it, and go back to "dukkha." Do this even if—especially if —you don't understand what "dukkha" means. Think of it as an algebraic "X," or a value you're trying to discover.
Defining Dukkha
The Buddha taught there are three main categories of dukkha. These are:
Suffering or Pain
Suffering or Pain (Dukkha-dukkha). Ordinary suffering, as defined by the English word, is one form of dukkha. This includes physical, emotional and mental pain.
Impermanence or Change
Anything that is not permanent, that is subject to change, is dukkha. Thus, happiness is dukkha, because it is not permanent. Great success, which fades with the passing of time, is dukkha. Even the purest state of bliss experienced in spiritual practice 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.
Conditioned States (Samkhara-dukkha).
To be conditioned is to be dependent on or affected by something else. According to the teaching of dependent origination, all phenomena are conditioned. Everything affects everything else. This is the most difficult part of the teachings on dukkha to understand, but it is critical to understanding Buddhism.
What Is the Self?
This takes us to the Buddha's teachings on the self. According to the doctrine of anatman (or anatta) there is no "self" in the sense of a permanent, integral, autonomous being within an individual existence. What we think of as our self, our personality, and ego, are temporary creations of the skandhas.
The skandhas, or "five aggregates," or "five heaps," are a combination of five properties or energies that make what we think of as an individual being. Theravada scholar Walpola Rahula said,
"What we call a 'being', or an 'individual', or 'I', is only a convenient name or a label given to the combination of these five groups. They are all impermanent, all constantly changing.
Whatever is impermanent is dukkha' .
This is the true meaning of the Buddha's words: 'In brief the Five Aggregates of Attachment are dukkha.' They are not the same for two consecutive moments. Here A is not equal to A. They are in a flux of momentary arising and disappearing."
Life Is Dukkha
Understanding the First Noble Truth is not easy. For most of us, it takes years of dedicated practice, especially to go beyond a conceptual understanding to a realization of the teaching. Yet people often glibly dismiss Buddhism as soon as they hear that word "suffering."
That's why I think it is useful to toss out English words like "suffering" and "stressful" and go back to "dukkha."
Let the meaning of dukkha unfold for you, without other words getting in the way.
The historical Buddha once summarized his own teachings this way: "Both formerly and now, it is only dukkha that I describe, and the cessation of dukkha."
Buddhism will be a muddle for anyone who doesn't grasp the deeper meaning of dukkha
https://www.learnreligions.com/life-is-suffering-what-does-that-mean-450094
By Barbara O'Brien
Updated September 09, 2018
The Buddha didn't speak English. This should be obvious since the historical Buddha lived in India almost 26 centuries ago. Yet it's a point lost on many people who get stuck on the definitions of English words used in translations.
For example, people want to argue with the first of the Four Noble Truths, often translated as "life is suffering." That sounds so negative.
Remember, the Buddha didn't speak English, so he didn't use the English word, "suffering." What he said, according to the earliest scriptures, is that life is dukkha.
What Does 'Dukkha' Mean?
"Dukkha" is Pali, a variation of Sanskrit, and it means a lot of things. For example, anything temporary is dukkha, including happiness. But some people can't get past that English word "suffering" and want to disagree with the Buddha because of it.
Some translators are chucking out "suffering" and replacing it with "dissatisfaction" or "stress." Sometimes translators bump into words that have no corresponding words meaning exactly the same thing in the other language. "Dukkha" is one of those words.
Understanding dukkha, however, is critical to understanding the Four Noble Truths, and the Four Noble Truths are the foundation of Buddhism.
Filling in the Blank
Because there is no single English word that neatly and tidily contains the same range of meaning and connotation as "dukkha," 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," or whatever other English word is standing in for it, and go back to "dukkha." Do this even if—especially if —you don't understand what "dukkha" means. Think of it as an algebraic "X," or a value you're trying to discover.
Defining Dukkha
The Buddha taught there are three main categories of dukkha. These are:
Suffering or Pain
Suffering or Pain (Dukkha-dukkha). Ordinary suffering, as defined by the English word, is one form of dukkha. This includes physical, emotional and mental pain.
Impermanence or Change
Anything that is not permanent, that is subject to change, is dukkha. Thus, happiness is dukkha, because it is not permanent. Great success, which fades with the passing of time, is dukkha. Even the purest state of bliss experienced in spiritual practice 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.
Conditioned States (Samkhara-dukkha).
To be conditioned is to be dependent on or affected by something else. According to the teaching of dependent origination, all phenomena are conditioned. Everything affects everything else. This is the most difficult part of the teachings on dukkha to understand, but it is critical to understanding Buddhism.
What Is the Self?
This takes us to the Buddha's teachings on the self. According to the doctrine of anatman (or anatta) there is no "self" in the sense of a permanent, integral, autonomous being within an individual existence. What we think of as our self, our personality, and ego, are temporary creations of the skandhas.
The skandhas, or "five aggregates," or "five heaps," are a combination of five properties or energies that make what we think of as an individual being. Theravada scholar Walpola Rahula said,
"What we call a 'being', or an 'individual', or 'I', is only a convenient name or a label given to the combination of these five groups. They are all impermanent, all constantly changing.
Whatever is impermanent is dukkha' .
This is the true meaning of the Buddha's words: 'In brief the Five Aggregates of Attachment are dukkha.' They are not the same for two consecutive moments. Here A is not equal to A. They are in a flux of momentary arising and disappearing."
Life Is Dukkha
Understanding the First Noble Truth is not easy. For most of us, it takes years of dedicated practice, especially to go beyond a conceptual understanding to a realization of the teaching. Yet people often glibly dismiss Buddhism as soon as they hear that word "suffering."
That's why I think it is useful to toss out English words like "suffering" and "stressful" and go back to "dukkha."
Let the meaning of dukkha unfold for you, without other words getting in the way.
The historical Buddha once summarized his own teachings this way: "Both formerly and now, it is only dukkha that I describe, and the cessation of dukkha."
Buddhism will be a muddle for anyone who doesn't grasp the deeper meaning of dukkha
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https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.than.html
"Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, death is dukkha; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, & despair are dukkha; association with the unbeloved is dukkha; separation from the loved is dukkha; not getting what is wanted is dukkha.
In short, the five clinging-aggregates are dukkha."
"Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, death is dukkha; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, & despair are dukkha; association with the unbeloved is dukkha; separation from the loved is dukkha; not getting what is wanted is dukkha.
In short, the five clinging-aggregates are dukkha."
fuck that. life is not to be lived as a paranoid state- "aware" or not
so you subordinated your independent mind to hedonism? that is sooo dukkha! lol
I was told if I ever met the buddha I should kill the buddha, what better way to do that than in full viking mode!
"When you meet the Buddha, kill him" refers to "killing" a Buddha you perceive as separate from yourself because such a Buddha is an illusion.
In Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Weatherhill, 1970), Shunryu Suzuki Roshi said,
"Zen master will say, 'Kill the Buddha!' Kill the Buddha if the Buddha exists somewhere else.
Kill the Buddha, because you should resume your own Buddha nature."
Kill the Buddha if the Buddha exists somewhere else. If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha.
In other words, if you encounter a "Buddha" separate from yourself, you are deluded.
https://www.learnreligions.com/kill-the-buddha-449940
OK. but you make a valid point about "kill the Buddha if you meet him"
lol.. i am FAR too Monkey Mind for that! I rely on studies - I am Tibetan Buddhist (Dalai Lama)
As a Buddhist, what are your most effective ways to dispel waves of tempestuous thoughts brought about by occasional life upsets? Many texts teach these are the times to learn from and to practice. So how do you yourself restore a stable mind?
Your query contains the answer
Buddhists do try and learn to understand that life and all it entails is a continuous struggle/effort. we are taught that life is dynamic by its very nature, we are likewise taught the act of attachment to a static life will only lead to suffering. Buddhists engage in the meditative arts to exercise our minds to fully express our highest dynamic potential and inherent flexibility to like and thrive in an ever-changing world. given this statement,
Nichiren Buddhists also understand our human capacity
I adhere to Buddhist practice as being in alignment with scientific discovery, not solely dependent but complementary. quantum has discovered how two particles can occupy the same location. simultaneously This discovery can be applied to our minds as we increasingly discover its complexity…… Meaning we can understand the dynamics of life and the universe and and manage our daily lives simultaneously…Skillful Means is the term.
Your query contains the answer
Buddhists do try and learn to understand that life and all it entails is a continuous struggle/effort. we are taught that life is dynamic by its very nature, we are likewise taught the act of attachment to a static life will only lead to suffering. Buddhists engage in the meditative arts to exercise our minds to fully express our highest dynamic potential and inherent flexibility to like and thrive in an ever-changing world. given this statement,
Nichiren Buddhists also understand our human capacity
I adhere to Buddhist practice as being in alignment with scientific discovery, not solely dependent but complementary. quantum has discovered how two particles can occupy the same location. simultaneously This discovery can be applied to our minds as we increasingly discover its complexity…… Meaning we can understand the dynamics of life and the universe and and manage our daily lives simultaneously…Skillful Means is the term.
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Nichiren Buddhism focuses on the Lotus Sutra doctrine that all people have an innate Buddha-nature and are therefore inherently capable of attaining enlightenment in their current form and present lifetime. There are three essential aspects to Nichiren Buddhism, the undertaking of faith, the practice of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo accompanied by selected recitations of the Lotus Sutra, and the study of Nichiren's scriptural writings, called Gosho.[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nichiren_Buddhism