The Three Marks of Existence in the Buddhist Faith: Part Three: Dukkha

 

The term dukkha is most often translated into simply meaning "suffering." However, a lot of the sources that I've looked at over the past few days argue that this definition may be inadequate. Most of them say that dukkha is far more subtle, and sweeping than what any person might ascertain from just hearing the term "suffering." Instead, they feel that it must include a wider range of emotions and feelings, such as: "..discomfort, pain, stress, instability, inadequacy, failure, and disappointment." - Phillip Moffitt. Meanwhile the author Glenn Wallis also suggests that it include all of these emotions, too:

faint unsettledness

irritation

impatience

annoyance

frustration

disappointment

dissatisfaction

aggravation

tension

stress

anxiety

vexation

pain

desperation

sorrow

sadness

suffering 

misery

agony

anguish

The reason why these authors feel that any real understanding of dukkha should be so comprehensive, is because that is how the Buddha meant it when he was describing the meaning of dukkha those many years ago. He meant for it to extend beyond "suffering," because he wanted it to be understood that it is not exclusive to the extremes, and to clarify that it does not only amount from an external physical pain that one might feel.

The importance of understanding dukkha lies in the process of solving a problem: you cannot begin to solve a problem correctly without first understanding it correctly, and the problem will continue to arise again repeatedly in time, if you do not comprehend the root cause. The venerable Ajahn Chah phrased it as thus:

Dukkha is a noble truth. If we allow ourselves to face it then we will start to seek a way out of it. If we are trying to go somewhere and the road is blocked we will think about how to make a pathway. Working at it day after day we can get through. When we encounter problems we develop wisdom like this. Without seeing dukkha we don't really look into and resolve our problems; we just pass them by indifferently..When dukkha arises we should investigate to see the causes of its arising. Then once we know that, we can practice to remove those causes.

This truth, of all the marks of existence within Buddhism that I've mentioned, is by far the easiest to accept. It's pretty evident to any adult, and to any teenager, there are inherent undeniable forms of mental anguish that we accidently impose on ourselves and that we make much worse than they need to be, by seldom acknowledging where those feelings originated. The primary purpose of citing this as an all-pervading truth about our reality, is to treat the underlying causes that cause the pain or unpleasantness, with insight. "The Buddha did not offer a magical cure for dukkha, but he did point out that everything arises because of causes. When the cause is eliminated so is the effect." - Edna Lake

The "treatment" for this, as prescribed by Buddhists, is to build your discernment and to alert your cognition to the core of these problems. This idea is a reoccurring theme in Buddhism and it is that way, because that is how the Buddha found his enlightenment. The proper recognition of the Four Noble Truths and the following of The Eightfold Path is the way that Buddhism suggests to appease this suffering, but if any of us are only going to take away a philosophical message from their marks of existence, I think it should be: that we ought to place a little more emphasis on being knowledgeable about the nature of things, whether that is in reference to the nature of our feelings, the nature of ourselves, or the nature of the other miscellaneous items that we come in contact with everyday of our lives and attach meaning to. If we maintain a better comprehension as to what may not last, we might be better able to live our lives with a more solid grounding, and with a more indestructible happiness.

Sarah

Works Cited

Chah, Ajahn. "Understanding Dukkha." Ajahn Chah. Wat Nong Pah Pong, Mar. 2008. Web. 2 Apr. 2013.

Lake, Edna. "Dukkha: Suffering or Dissatisfaction." Buddhapadipa Temple. Buddhapadipa Temple, n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2013.

Moffitt, Phillip. "The Mind That Suffers." Shambhala Sun. Shambhala Sun Foundation, May 2008. Web. 2 Apr. 2013.

Rinpoche, Traleg. "The Journey Starts Here: Knowing This Truth Is Noble." Shambhala Sun. Shambhala Sun Foundation, May 2008. Web. 2 Apr. 2013.

Wallis, Glenn. "What's Dukkha?: What Isn't." Shambhala Sun. Shambhala Sun Foundation, May 2008. Web. 2 Apr. 2013.