View source for Duḥkha

{{Short description|Concept in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism}}
{{For|the Egyptian food|Duqqa}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Buddhist term
|fontsize=100%
|title=Duḥkha
|pi=Dukkha
|pi-Latn=
|sa=दुःख
|sa-Latn=Duḥkha
|bn={{lang|bn|দুঃখ}}
|bn-Latn=duḥkhô
|si={{ill|දුක්ඛ සත්&zwnj;යය|si|දුක්ඛ|vertical-align=sup}}
|si-Latn=dukkha satyaya
|ka=ದುಃಖ
|ka-Latn=Duḥkha
|en=suffering, unhappiness, pain, unsatisfactoriness, unease, stress
|bo=སྡུག་བསྔལ།
|bo-Latn=[[Wylie transliteration|Wylie]]: sdug bsngal;<br/>[[THL Simplified Phonetic Transcription|THL]]: dukngal
|zh=苦
|zh-Latn=kǔ
|ja=苦
|ja-Latn=ku
|km=ទុក្ខ
|km-Latn=tŭkkh
|ko=고<br />苦
|ko-Latn=ko
|vi=苦<br />khổ<br />災害<br/>Bất toại
|my=ဒုက္ခ
|my-Latn=doʊʔkʰa̰
|shn=တုၵ်ႉၶ
|shn-Latn=tṵ̂kkha
|tl=ᜇᜓᜃ᜔ᜑ<br />dukha
|th={{ill|ทุกข์|th|vertical-align=sup}}
|th-Latn=thuk
|ta=துக்கம்
|ta-Latn=thukkam
|mr=दुःख|mr-Latn=Duhkha}}

'''''Duḥkha''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|uː|k|ə}}; {{Langx|sa|दुःख}}, {{langx|pi|dukkha}}) "suffering", "pain", "unease", or "unsatisfactoriness", is an important concept in [[Buddhism]], [[Jainism]] and [[Hinduism]]. Its meaning depends on the context, and may refer more specifically to the "unsatisfactoriness" or "unease" of craving for and grasping after transient 'things' (sense objects, including thoughts), expecting pleasure from them while ignorant of this transientness.{{sfnp|Huxter|2016|p=10}}{{sfnp|Harvey|2015|p=26–31}}{{sfnp|Anderson|2013|p= 1, 22 with note 4}}{{sfnp|Nyanatiloka Thera|2004|p=61}}{{refn|group=note|name=Translation}} In Buddhism, dukkha is part of the first of the [[Four Noble Truths]] and one of the [[three marks of existence]]. The term also appears in scriptures of [[Hinduism]], such as the [[Upanishads]], in discussions of [[moksha]] (spiritual liberation).<ref name="olivellebu44142" /><ref name="Deussen1980p497"/>

While the term ''dukkha'' has often been derived from the prefix ''du-'' ("bad" or "difficult") and the root ''kha'' ("empty," "hole"), meaning a badly fitting axle-hole of a cart or chariot giving "a very bumpy ride,"{{sfn|Sargeant|2009|p=303}}{{sfn|Goldstein|2013|p=289}} it may actually be derived from ''duḥ-stha'', a "dis-/ bad- + stand-", that is, "standing badly, unsteady," "unstable."{{sfn|Monier-Williams|1899|p=483, entry note:&nbsp;}}{{sfnp|Analayo|2013|p=242}}{{sfnp|Beckwith|2015|p=30}}{{sfnp|Alexander|2019|p=36}}

==Etymology and meaning==
''Duḥkha'' (Sanskrit: दुःख; Pali: ''dukkha'') is a term found in the Upanishads and Buddhist texts, meaning anything that is "uneasy, uncomfortable, unpleasant, difficult, causing pain or sadness".{{Sfn|Monier-Williams|1899|p=483}}{{sfnp|Rhys Davids|Stede|1921|p=324–325}} It is also a concept in Indian religions about the nature of transient phenomena which are innately "unpleasant", "suffering", "pain", "sorrow", "distress", "grief" or "misery".{{Sfn|Monier-Williams|1899|p=483}}{{sfnp|Rhys Davids|Stede|1921|p=324–325}} The term ''duḥkha'' does not have a one-word English translation, and embodies diverse aspects of unpleasant human experiences.{{sfnp|Harvey|2015|p=26–31}}{{sfnp|Rhys Davids|Stede|1921|p=324–325}} It is often understood as the opposite of ''[[sukha]]'', meaning lasting "happiness," "comfort" or "ease".{{sfn|Walpola Rahula|2007|loc=Kindle Locations 542-550}}

===Etymology===

====Axle hole====
The word has been explained in recent times as a derivation from Aryan terminology for an axle hole, referring to an axle hole which is not in the center and leads to a bumpy, uncomfortable ride. According to [[Winthrop Sargeant]],
{{Blockquote|The ancient Aryans who brought the Sanskrit language to India were a nomadic, horse- and cattle-breeding people who travelled in horse- or ox-drawn vehicles. ''Su-'' and ''dus-'' are prefixes indicating good or bad. The word ''kha'', in later Sanskrit meaning "sky," "ether," or "space," was originally the word for "hole," particularly an axle hole of one of the Aryan's vehicles. Thus ''sukha'' ... meant, originally, "having a good axle hole," while ''duḥkha'' meant "having a poor axle hole," leading to discomfort.{{sfn|Sargeant|2009|p=303}}}}

[[Joseph Goldstein (writer)|Joseph Goldstein]], American [[vipassana]] teacher and writer, explains the etymology as follows:
{{Blockquote|The word ''dukkha'' is made up of the prefix ''du-'' and the root ''kha''. ''Du-'' means "bad" or "difficult". ''Kha'' means "empty". "Empty", here, refers to several things—some specific, others more general. One of the specific meanings refers to the empty axle hole of a wheel. If the axle fits badly into the center hole, we get a very bumpy ride. This is a good analogy for our ride through [[saṃsāra]].{{sfn|Goldstein|2013|p=289}}}}

===='Standing unstable'====
However, according to [[Monier Monier-Williams]], the actual roots of the [[Pali]] term [[wikt:dukkha|''dukkha'']] appear to be [[Sanskrit]] [[wikt:दुस्-|दुस्-]] (''dus-'', "bad") + [[wikt:स्था|स्था]] (''sthā'', "to stand").{{sfn|Monier-Williams|1899|p=483, entry note:&nbsp;}}{{refn|group=note|{{harvnb|Monier-Williams|1899|p=483, entry note:&nbsp;}}: "according to grammarians properly written ''dush-kha'' and said to be from ''duḥ-'' and ''kha'' [cf. ''su-khá'']; but more probably a Prākritized form for ''duḥ-sthā'', q.v."}} Regular phonological changes in the development of Sanskrit into the various [[Prakrit]]s led to a shift from ''dus-sthā'' to ''duḥkha'' to ''dukkha''.

Analayo concurs, stating that ''dukkha'' as derived from ''duḥ-sthā'', "standing badly," "conveys nuances of "uneasiness" or of being "uncomfortable."{{sfnp|Analayo|2013}} Silk Road philologist [[Christopher I. Beckwith]] elaborates on this derivation.{{sfnp|Beckwith|2015|p=28}} According to Beckwith:
{{quote|...although the sense of duḥkha in Normative Buddhism is traditionally given as 'suffering', that and similar interpretations are highly unlikely for Early Buddhism. Significantly, Monier-Williams himself doubts the usual explanation of duḥkha and presents an alternative one immediately after it, namely: duḥ-stha "'standing badly,' unsteady, disquieted (lit. and fig.); uneasy", and so on. This form is also attested, and makes much better sense as the opposite of the Rig Veda sense of sukha, which Monier-Williams gives in full.{{sfnp|Beckwith|2015|p=30}}{{refn|group=note|Beckwith notes [[similarities between Pyrrhonism and Buddhism]], and argues that the Greek philosopher [[Pyrrho]] (c. 360 – c. 270 BC) based his new philosophy, [[Pyrrhonism]], on elements of [[Pre-sectarian Buddhism|Early Buddhism]], most particularly the Buddhist [[three marks of existence]]. According to Beckwith, Pyrrho translated ''dukkha'' into Greek as ''astathmēta''.{{sfnp|Beckwith|2015|p=22-23}} Becwith's views are not supported by mainstream scholarship.}}}}

===Translation===
The literal meaning of ''duḥkha'', as used in a general sense is "suffering" or "painful."{{refn|group=note|{{harvtxt|Harvey|2013|p=30}}: ""suffering" is an appropriate translation only in a general, inexact sense [...] In the passage on the first True Reality, dukkha in "birth is dukkha" is an adjective [...] The best translation here is by the English adjective "painful," which can apply to a range of things."}} Its exact translation depends on the context.{{refn|group=note|Gombrich, ''What the Buddha Thought'', p.10: "there has been a lot of argument over how to translate the word dukkha; and again, the choice of translation must depend heavily on the context.}} Contemporary translators of Buddhist texts use a variety of English words to convey the aspects of ''dukh''. Early Western translators of Buddhist texts (before the 1970s) typically translated the Pali term ''dukkha'' as "suffering." Later translators have emphasized that "suffering" is a too limited translation for the term duḥkha, and have preferred to either leave the term untranslated,{{sfn|Walpola Rahula|2007|loc=Kindle Locations 542-550}} or to clarify that translation with terms such as anxiety, distress, frustration, unease, unsatisfactoriness, not having what one wants, having what one doesn't want, etc.{{sfn|Walpola Rahula|2007|loc=Kindle locations 524-528}}{{sfn|Prebish|1993}}{{sfn|Keown|2003}}{{refn|group=note|name=Translations (contemporary)}} In the sequence "birth is painful," ''dukhka'' may be translated as "painful."{{sfnp|Harvey|2013|p=30}}  When related to [[vedana]], "feeling," ''dukkha'' ("unpleasant," "painful") is the opposite of ''sukkha'' ("pleasure," "pleasant"), yet all feelings are ''dukkha'' in that they are impermanent, conditioned phenomena, which are unsatisfactory, incapable of providing lasting satisfaction.{{CN|date=February 2023}} The term "unsatisfactoriness" then is often used to emphasize the unsatisfactoriness of "life under the influence of afflictions and polluted karma."{{sfn|Dalai Lama|1998|p=38}}{{sfn|Gethin|1998|p=61}}{{sfn|Smith|Novak|2009|loc=Kindle location 2769}}{{sfn|Keown|2000|loc=Kindle Locations 932-934}}{{sfn|Bhikkhu Bodhi|2011|p=6}}{{efn|name=mistranslation|Unsatisfactory:
* Analayo (2013), ''Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization'': "Dukkha is often translated as “suffering”. Suffering, however, represents only one aspect of dukkha, a term whose range of implications is difficult to capture with a single English word [...] In order to catch the various nuances of “dukkha”, the most convenient translation is “unsatisfactoriness”, though it might be best to leave the term untranslated."
* Gombrich, ''How Buddhism Began'': "The first Noble Truth is the single word ''dukkha'', and it is explicated to mean that everything in our experience of life is ultimately unsatisfactory";
:::::* Dalai Lama, Thubten Chodron, ''Approaching the Buddhist Path'', p.279 note 2: "''Duhkha'' (P. ''dukkha'') is often translated as "suffering," but this translation is misleading. Its meaning is more nuanced and refers to all unsatisfactory states and experiences, many of which are not explicitly painful. While the Buddha says that life under the influence of afflictions and polluted karma is unsatisfactory, he does not say that life is suffering."
*  Roderick Bucknell, Martin Stuart-Fox, ''The Twilight Language'', p.161: "Thus ''dukkha'' at the most subtle level appears to refer to a normally unperceived unsatisfactory quality";
* Gombrich, ''What the Buddha Thought'', p.10: "there has been a lot of argument over how to translate the word dukkha; and again, the choice of translation must depend heavily on the context. But what is being expressed is that life as we normally experience it is unsatisfactory."}}

==Buddhism==
{{buddhism}}

===Early Buddhism===
''Dukkha'' is one of the [[three marks of existence]], namely ''[[anitya|anicca]]'' ("impermanent"), ''dukkha'' ("unsatisfactory"), ''[[anatman|anatta]]'' (without a lasting essence).{{refn|group=note|Beckwith: "The Buddha says All ''dharmas'' [<nowiki>=</nowiki> ''pragmata''] are<br>
''anitya'' "impermanent"<br>
''dukkha'' "unsatisfactory, imperfect, unstable"<br>
''anatman'' "without an innate self-identity"{{sfnp|Alexander|2019|p=36}}}}

Various suttas sum up how cognitive processes result in an aversion to unpleasant things and experiences (''dukkha''), forming a corrupted process together with the complementary process of clinging to and craving for pleasure (''[[sukha]]''). This is expressed as ''[[saṃsāra]]'', an ongoing process of death and rebirth,{{refn|group=note|name="PW"|Paul Williams: "All rebirth is due to karma and is impermanent. Short of attaining enlightenment, in each rebirth one is born and dies, to be reborn elsewhere in accordance with the completely impersonal causal nature of one's own karma. The endless cycle of birth, rebirth, and redeath, is samsara."{{sfn|Williams|2002|p=74-75}}}} but also more pointly and non-metaphysically in the process-formula of the five skandhas:
# [[Jāti (Buddhism)|Birth]] is dukkha, maturation is dukkha, [[Jarāmaraṇa|aging]] is dukkha, [[Byādhi (Buddhism)|illness]] is dukkha, [[Jarāmaraṇa|death]] is dukkha;
# Sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are dukkha;
# Association with the unbeloved is dukkha; separation from the loved is duḥkha;
# Not getting what is wanted is dukkha.
# In conclusion, the five clinging-aggregates ([[khandhas]]) are dukkha.

Early emphasis is on the importance of developing insight into the nature of ''dukkha'', the corrupted process of clinging and craving which starts with sense-contact, as described in the skandhas, and how this corruption can be overcome, namely by training the mind culminating in the process of the jhanas. This is summarized in the teachings on the [[Four Noble Truths]] and other formulaic expressions of the [[Buddhist paths to awakening|Buddhist way]] to [[Awakening (Buddhism)|awakening]].

Within the Buddhist suttas, dukkha has a broad meaning, and has also been specified in three categories:<ref>"What Are the Three Kinds of Suffering?"https://www.lionsroar.com/buddhism-by-the-numbers-the-three-kinds-of-suffering/</ref>
* ''Dukkha-dukkha'', aversion to physical suffering{{snd}} this includes the physical and mental sufferings of [[Jāti (Buddhism)|birth]], [[Jarāmaraṇa|aging]], [[Byādhi (Buddhism)|illness]], [[Jarāmaraṇa|dying]]; distress due to what is not desirable.
* ''Viparinama-dukkha'', the frustration of disappearing happiness{{snd}} this is the duḥkha of pleasant or happy experiences changing to unpleasant when the causes and conditions that produced the pleasant experiences cease.
* ''[[Sankhara]]-dukkha'', the unsatisfactoriness of changing and impermanent "things"{{snd}} the incapability of conditioned things to give us lasting happiness. This includes "a basic unsatisfactoriness pervading all existence, all forms of life, because all forms of life are changing, impermanent and without any inner core or substance."<ref>Bikkhu Bodhi, dead link</ref> On this level, the term indicates a lack of lasting satisfaction, or a sense that things never measure up to our expectations or standards.

===Chinese Buddhism===
Chinese Buddhist tradition has been influenced by Taoism and Confucian theory that advocates that duhkha (古:十Ten directions, 口 hole or opening) is associated to the theory of seven emotions of endogenous disease through the formation of the spirit of the [[Hun and po|po]] a term that relates to the Western psychological notion of [[Ego (psychology)|ego]] or the [[Theology|theological]] reference to the human [[soul]]. This theory is expounded in the application of traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment and prevention of pain and suffering from illness, disease and ignorance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Huang di nei jing su wen |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666312/ |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Soothill |first1=William Edward |title=A dictionary of Chinese Buddhist terms: with Sanskrit and English equivalents and a Sanskrit-Pali index |last2=Hodous |first2=Lewis |date=2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-7007-1455-1 |edition=Repr. - Transferred to digital printing |location=London New York, NY}}</ref>

===Literal suffering and awakening===
Awakening, that is, awakening to one's true mind of emptiness and compassion, does not necessarily end physical suffering. In the Buddhist tradition, suffering after awakening is often explained as the working-out or untangling of karma of one's previous present life.

==Hinduism==
In Hinduism, ''duḥkha'' encompasses many meanings such as the phenomenological senses of pain and grief, a deep-seated dissatisfaction with the limitations of worldly existence, and the devastation of impermanence.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Grebe |first1=Matthias |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jVu7EAAAQBAJ |title=T&T Clark Handbook of Suffering and the Problem of Evil |last2=Grössl |first2=Johannes |date=2023-07-13 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-567-68245-1 |pages=559 |language=en}}</ref>

In [[Hindu]] scriptures, the earliest [[Upanishads|Upani{{IAST|ṣ}}ads]] — the [[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad|{{IAST|Bṛhadāraṇyaka}}]] and the [[Chandogya Upanishad|{{IAST|Chāndogya}}]] — in all likelihood predate the advent of Buddhism.{{refn|group=note|See, e.g., [[Patrick Olivelle]] (1996), ''Upani{{IAST|ṣ}}ads'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press), {{ISBN|978-0-19-283576-5}}, p. xxxvi: "The scholarly consensus, well-founded I think, is that the [[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad|{{IAST|Bṛhadāraṇyaka}}]] and the {{IAST|Chāndogya}} are the two earliest [[Upanishads|Upani{{IAST|ṣ}}ads]]....  The two texts as we have them are, in all likelihood, pre-Buddhist; placing them in the seventh to sixth centuries BCE may be reasonable, give or take a century or so."}}  In these scriptures of Hinduism, the Sanskrit word ''du{{IAST|ḥ}}kha'' (दुःख) appears in the sense of "suffering, sorrow, distress", and in the context of a spiritual pursuit and liberation through the knowledge of [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]] ('essence').<ref name="olivellebu44142" /><ref name="Deussen1980p497">{{cite book| author=Paul Deussen|title=Sixty Upaniṣads of the Veda, Vol. 1| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8mSpQo9q-tIC&pg=PR497| year=1980| publisher=Motilal Banarsidass (Reprinted)| isbn=978-81-208-1468-4|pages=482–485, 497}}</ref><ref>Robert Hume, [https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n281/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad], The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pages 261-262</ref>

The concept of sorrow and suffering, and self-knowledge as a means to overcome it, appears extensively with other terms in the pre-Buddhist Upanishads.<ref>{{cite book |author=Paul Deussen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8mSpQo9q-tIC |title=Sixty Upaniṣads of the Veda, Vol. 1 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass (Reprinted) |year=1980 |isbn=978-81-208-1468-4 |pages=112, 161, 176, 198, 202–203, 235, 455, etc.}}</ref> The term ''Duhkha'' also appears in many other middle and later post-Buddhist Upanishads such as the verse 6.20 of [[Shvetashvatara Upanishad]],<ref>{{cite book |author=Paul Deussen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8mSpQo9q-tIC&pg=PR326 |title=Sixty Upaniṣads of the Veda, Vol. 1 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass (Reprinted) |year=1980 |isbn=978-81-208-1468-4 |page=326}}</ref> as well as in the [[Bhagavad Gita]], all in the contexts of [[moksha]] and [[bhakti]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Paul Deussen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8mSpQo9q-tIC&pg=PR305 |title=Sixty Upaniṣads of the Veda, Vol. 1 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass (Reprinted) |year=1980 |isbn=978-81-208-1468-4 |page=305}}</ref>{{Refn|group=note|See ''Bhagavad Gita'' verses 2.56, 5.6, 6.22-32, 8.15, 10.4, 13.6-8, 14.16, 17.9, 18.8, etc;{{Sfn|Sargeant|2009}}}}

The term also appears in the foundational Sutras of the six schools of [[Hindu philosophy]], such as the opening lines of ''Samkhya karika'' of the [[Samkhya]] school.<ref>Original Sanskrit: [http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_z_misc_major_works/IshvarakRiShNasAnkyakArikA.pdf Samkhya karika] Compiled and indexed by Ferenc Ruzsa (2015), Sanskrit Documents Archives;<br />Second Translation (Verse 1): Ferenc Ruzsa (1997), The triple suffering - A note on the Samkhya karika, Xth World Sanskrit Conference: Bangalore, University of Hungary, Budapest;<br />Third Translation (all Verses): [https://archive.org/stream/hinduphilosophys00davi#page/12/mode/2up Samkhyakarika of Iswara Krishna] John Davis (Translator), Trubner, London, University of Toronto Archives</ref><ref name="colebrookesktrans">[http://www.kouroo.info/kouroo/transclusions/18/37/1837_SankhyaKarikaHTColebrook.pdf Samkhya karika] by Iswara Krishna, Henry Colebrooke (Translator), Oxford University Press</ref> The Samkhya school identifies three types of suffering.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gächter |first=Othmar |date=1998 |title=Evil and Suffering in Hinduism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40464839 |journal=Anthropos |volume=93 |issue=4/6 |pages=393–403 |issn=0257-9774 |jstor=40464839}}</ref> The [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali]] state that "for one who has discrimination, everything is suffering" ('''''duḥkham''' eva sarvaṁ vivekinaḥ'').<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bryant |first=Edwin |author-link=Edwin Bryant (Indologist) |title=The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali |date=2009 |publisher=North Point Press |isbn=978-0865477360 |page=302}}</ref>

Some of the Hindu scripture verses referring to ''duhkha'' are:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Hindu Scripture
!Sanskrit
!English
|-
|Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad (Verse 4.4.14)
|{{IAST|ihaiva santo 'tha vidmas tad vayaṃ na ced avedir mahatī vinaṣṭiḥ<br />ye tad vidur amṛtās te bhavanty athetare '''duḥkham''' evāpiyanti}}<ref>[[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]], Retrieved 16 May 2016 from "SanskritDocuments.Org" at [http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_upanishhat/brinew-proofed.html?lang=sa Brihadaranyaka IV.iv.14], Original: इहैव सन्तोऽथ विद्मस्तद्वयं विद्मस् तद् वयम्न चेदवेदिर्महती विनष्टिः । ये तद्विदुरमृतास्ते भवन्त्य् अथेतरे '''दुःख'''मेवापियन्ति ॥ १४ ॥</ref>
|While we are still here, we have come to know it <nowiki>[</nowiki>''[[Ātman (Hinduism)|{{IAST|ā}}tman]]'']. If you've not known it, great is your destruction.

Those who have known it – they become immortal. As for the rest – only suffering awaits them.<ref name="olivellebu44142">[[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]] 4 April 2014, trans. Patrick Olivelle (1996), p. 66.</ref>
|-
|Chāndogya Upaniṣad (Verse 7.26.2)
|{{IAST|na paśyo mṛtyuṃ paśyati na rogaṃ nota '''duḥkhatām'''<br />sarvaṃ ha paśyaḥ paśyati sarvam āpnoti sarvaśaḥ}}<ref>[[Chandogya Upanishad]] 7,26.2.  Retrieved 16 May 2016 from [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/छान्दोग्योपनिषद्_४ Wikisource छान्दोग्योपनिषद् ४ ॥ षड्विंशः खण्डः ॥], Quote: तदेष श्लोको न पश्यो मृत्युं पश्यति न रोगं नोत '''दुःखताँ''' सर्वँ ह पश्यः पश्यति सर्वमाप्नोति सर्वश इति ।</ref>
|When a man rightly sees, he sees no death, no sickness or distress.{{refn|[[Max Muller]] translates ''Duḥkhatām'' in this verse as "pain".<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/upanishads01ml#page/124/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad 7.26.2], Max Muller (Translator), Oxford University Press, page 124</ref>|group=note}}

When a man rightly sees, he sees all, he wins all, completely.<ref>[[Chandogya Upanishad]] 7.26.2, trans. Patrick Olivelle (1996), p. 166.</ref>{{refn|This statement is comparable to the Pali Canon's [[Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta]] ([[Samyutta Nikaya|SN]] 56.11) where sickness and death are identified as examples of ''dukkha''.|group=note}}
|-
|Bhagavad Gita (Verse 2.56)
|'''''duḥkh'''''eṣhv-anudvigna-manāḥ sukheṣhu vigata-spṛihaḥ
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ sthita-dhīr munir uchyate
|One whose mind remains undisturbed amidst misery, who does not crave for pleasure, and who is free from attachment, fear, and anger, is called a sage of steady wisdom.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mukundananda |first=Swami |title=BG 2.56: Chapter 2, Verse 56 – Bhagavad Gita, The Song of God – Swami Mukundananda |url=https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/2/verse/56 |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|Bhagavad Gita (Verse 8.15)
|mām upetya punar janma '''''duḥkh'''''ālayam aśāśvatam
nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ
|Reaching me, these great souls never again experience birth in this temporal abode of misery, for they have attained the ultimate perfection.<ref>{{Cite web |last=B.V. Tripurari |first=Swami |title=BG 8.15: Chapter 8, Verse 15 – Bhagavad Gita, Its Feeling and Philosophy – Swami B.V. Tripurari |url=http://swamitripurari.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/bhagavad_gita.pdf |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=www.swamitripurari.com |language=en}}</ref>
|}

== Jainism ==
''Duḥkha'' is explained in the [[Tattvartha Sutra]], an authoritative Jain scripture from the 2nd century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2017-09-30 |title=Duhkha, Duḥkha, Duḥkhā: 31 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/duhkha |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref>
{{Verse translation
|head1=Sanskrit
|lang1=sa
|samyagdarśanaśuddhaṃ yo jñānaṃ viratim eva cāpnoti<br/>'''duḥkha'''nimittam apīdaṃ tena sulabdhaṃ bhavati janma
|head2=English
|lang2=en
|[For] him who obtains knowledge, which is pure through right worldview, and indeed non-passion,<br/>for him there is good birth,even though this is the cause of pain.<ref>Boer, L. den. ''Early Jaina Epistemology: a Study of the Philosophical Chapters of the Tattvārthādhigama; With an English Translation of the Tattvārthādhigamabhāṣya I, II.8 25, and V''. 2020.</ref>
}}

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=27em}}
* [[Existential despair]]
* [[Four Noble Truths]]
* [[Nirodha]]
* [[Noble Eightfold Path]]
* [[Pathos]]
* [[Samudaya]]
* ''[[The Sickness Unto Death]]''
* [[Suffering]]
* [[Sukha]]
* [[Taṇhā]]
{{div col end}}
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{Reflist|group=note|35em|refs=
<!-- Translation -->
{{refn|group=note|name=Translation|Translations of ''duhkha'':<br>* {{harvnb|Nyanatiloka Thera|2004|p=61}}: dukkha (1) 'pain', painful feeling, which may be bodily and mental [...] 2. 'Suffering', 'ill'.<br>* {{harvnb|Huxter|2016|p=10}}: "dukkha (unsatisfactoriness or suffering) (....) In the Introduction I wrote that dukkha is probably best understood as unsatisfactoriness."<br>:{{sfnp|Anderson|2013|p= 1, 22 with note 4}} "(...) the three characteristics of samsara/sankhara (the realm of rebirth): anicca (impermance), dukkha (pain) and anatta (no-self)."<br>See also the [https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.086.than.html Anuradha Sutta: To Anuradha]}}
<!-- Translations (contemporary) -->
{{refn|group=note|name=Translations (contemporary)|Contemporary translators have used a variety of English words to translate the term ''duḥkha''; translators commonly use different words to translate aspects of the term. For example, ''duḥkha'' has been translated as follows in many contexts:
* Suffering (Harvey, Williams, Keown, Anderson, Gombrich, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ajahn Succito, Chogyam Trungpa, Rupert Gethin, Dalai Lama, ''et al.'')
* Pain (Harvey, Williams, Keown, Anderson, Huxter, Gombrich, et al)
* Unsatisfactoriness (Dalai Lama, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Rupert Gethin, ''et al.'')
* Stress ([[Thanissaro Bhikkhu]]: [https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.than.html Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta], [https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.086.than.html Anuradha Sutta] bottom)
* Sorrow
* Anguish
* Affliction (Brazier)
* Dissatisfaction (Pema Chodron, Chogyam Trunpa)
* Distress (Walpola Rahula)
* Frustration (Dalai Lama, ''Four Noble Truths'', p.&nbsp;38)
* Misery
* Anxiety (Chogyam Trungpa, ''The Truth of Suffering'', pp.&nbsp;8–10)
* Uneasiness (Chogyam Trungpa)
* Unease (Rupert Gethin)
* Unhappiness}}
}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
<!-- A -->
* {{Citation | last =Alexander | first =James | year =2019 | chapter =The State Is the Attempt to Strip Metaphor Out of Politics | editor-last =Kos | editor-first =Eric S. | title =Michael Oakeshott on Authority, Governance, and the State | publisher =Springer}}
* {{Citation | last =Analayo | year =2013 | title =Satipatthana. The Direct Path to Realization | publisher =Windhorse Publications| url =https://ia800303.us.archive.org/21/items/direct-path_analayo/satipatthana_direct-path_analayo_text.pdf}}
* {{cite book| last =Anderson | first =Carol | title =Pain and Its Ending: The Four Noble Truths in the Theravada Buddhist Canon | year =2013 | publisher =Routledge | isbn =978-1-136-81332-0 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=ASlTAQAAQBAJ}}
<!-- B -->
* {{cite book | last =Beckwith | first =Christopher I. | year =2015 | title =Greek Buddha: Pyrrho's Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia | publisher =[[Princeton University Press]] | isbn =9781400866328 | url =http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s10500.pdf}}
* {{Citation| last = Bhikkhu Bodhi | year =2011 | title =The Noble Eightfold Path: Way to the End of Suffering  | publisher =Independent Publishers Group, Kindle Edition}}
<!-- D -->
* {{Citation| last =Dalai Lama| year =1998| title =The Four Noble Truths| publisher =Thorsons}}
<!-- G -->
* {{Citation| last =Gethin | first = Rupert |author-link=Rupert Gethin | year =1998 | title =Foundations of Buddhism | publisher =Oxford University Press}}
* {{Citation| last =Goldstein | first = Joseph | year =2013 | title =Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening | publisher =Sounds True, Kindle Edition}}
<!-- H -->
* {{cite book | last =Harvey | first =Peter | year =2013 | title =The Selfless Mind: Personality, Consciousness and Nirvana in Early Buddhism | publisher =Routledge | isbn =978-1-136-78336-4 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=SfPcAAAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book | last =Harvey | first =Peter | year =2015 | chapter =Dukkha, Non-Self, and the Teaching on the Four Noble Truths | editor-last =Emmanuel | editor-first =Steven M. | title =A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy | publisher =John Wiley & Sons | isbn =978-1-119-14466-3 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=P_lmCgAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book | last =Huxter | first =Malcolm | year =2016 | title =Healing the Heart and Mind with Mindfulness: Ancient Path, Present Moment | publisher =Routledge | isbn =978-1-317-50540-2 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=n2qFCwAAQBAJ}}
<!-- K -->
* {{Citation| last =Keown | first =Damien | year=2000| title= Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction | publisher=Oxford University Press, Kindle Edition}}
*{{Citation| last = Keown| first = Damien |author-link=Damien Keown| year = 2003| title = Dictionary of Buddhism| publisher = Oxford University Press| isbn = 0-19-860560-9 }}
<!-- L -->
<!-- M -->
* {{Citation| last =Monier-Williams |first=Monier |author-link=Monier Monier-Williams| year =1899 | title =A Sanskrit-English Dictionary | location =London | publisher =Oxford University Press | url =http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0483-dut.pdf}}
<!-- N -->
* {{cite book | last =Nyanatiloka Thera | author-link =Nyanatiloka Thera | year = 2004 | chapter =dukkha | title =Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines | edition =5 | location = Kandy | publisher = Buddhist Publication Society | isbn = 9789552400193| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ztIxd_OGs3YC}}
<!-- P -->
*{{Citation | last = Prebish | first = Charles | year = 1993 | title = Historical Dictionary of Buddhism | publisher = The Scarecrow Press | isbn = 0-8108-2698-4 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000preb }}
<!-- R -->
* {{cite book|last1 =Rhys Davids | first1 =Thomas William | last2 =Stede | first2 =William | year =1921 | title =Pali-English Dictionary | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass | isbn =978-81-208-1144-7 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=0Guw2CnxiucC&pg=PA324}}
<!-- S -->
* {{Citation | last =Sargeant | first=Winthrop | year= 2009 |title =The Bhagavad Gita | publisher =SUNY Press}}
* {{Citation| last1 =Smith| first1=Huston|last2=Novak|first2=Philip| year=2009| title= Buddhism: A Concise Introduction | publisher=HarperOne, Kindle Edition}}
<!-- W -->
* {{Citation| last= Walpola Rahula |author-link=Walpola Rahula | year =2007 | title =What the Buddha Taught| publisher = Grove Press, Kindle Edition}}
* {{Citation| last= Williams |first=Paul | year =2002 | title =Buddhist Thought |isbn= 0-415207010 | publisher = Routledge}}
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book | last =Harvey | first =Peter | year =1990 | title =Introduction to Buddhism | publisher =Cambridge University Press}}
* {{Cite book| last =Kalupahana | first =David J. |author-link=David Kalupahana| year =1992 | title =A History of Buddhist Philosophy | place =Delhi | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited}}
* {{Cite book| last =Lopez | first =Donald S.|author-link=Donald S. Lopez Jr.| year =2001 | title =The Story of Buddhism | publisher =HarperCollins }}
* {{Cite book| last = Nanamoli |first=Bhikkhu |author-link=Bhikkhu Nanamoli | year =1995 | title =The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya| place =Boston | publisher =Wisdom Publications | isbn =0-86171-072-X}}
* {{Cite book| last =Potter | first =Karl | year =2004 | title =The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Vol. IX: Buddhist philosophy from 350 to 600 AD}}
* {{Cite book| last= Ronkin |first=Noa | year =2005 | title =Early Buddhist Metaphysics: the Making of a Philosophical Tradition| publisher = Routledge}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [https://anomadassi.lk/english-books/#flipbook-df_5257/23 Three Characteristics of Existence] by Alawwe Anōmadassi Thero
* [https://media.amaravati.org/dhamma-books/everything-is-teaching-us Everything Is Teaching Us], [[Ajahn Chah]] (2018), Amaravati Publications
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160823132539/http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/Articles/How%20does%20mindfulness%20transform%20suffering_the%20nature%20and%20origins%20of%20dukkha_I_CB_Teasdale_2011.pdf How does mindfulness transform suffering? I: the nature and origins of dukkha], JD Teasdale, M Chaskalson (2011)
* [https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/download/8880/2787 Explanations of dukkha], Tilmann Vetter (1998), Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121030125519/http://buddhasociety.com/online-books/what-buddha-taught-walpola-rahula-9-1 What Buddha Taught], [[Walpola Rahula]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050323233001/http://accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dukkha.html ''Dukkha''], edited by John T. Bullitt - Access to Insight
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151230041700/http://centrebouddhique.fr/the-buddhas-concept-of-dukkha/ ''The Buddha's Concept of Dukkha''], Kingsley Heendeniya
* [http://buddhism-dict.net/cgi-bin/xpr-ddb.pl?82.xml+id('b82e6') ''Ku'' 苦 entry]{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (use "guest" with no password for one-time login), [[Digital Dictionary of Buddhism]]
* [https://pyrrhonism.medium.com/the-buddha-did-not-teach-an-end-to-suffering-2a8711709dcf The Buddha Did Not Teach an End to Suffering], Douglas C. Bates

{{Buddhism topics}}
{{Hindudharma}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duḥkha}}
[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Buddhist philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Suffering]]
[[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]