Dukkha
Topic: Buddhism, Jainism and Heterodox Traditions · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings"
Meaning
Dukkha means sorrow or suffering. Buddhism teaches that dukkha is part of human life itself, because everything changes and nothing we cling to lasts. The Buddha said its cause lies in avidyā (ignorance) and attachment, which means craving and clinging. People can rise above it by following the middle path, which avoids both harsh self-punishment and a life of pleasure. Dukkha is one of the three marks of existence, along with anicca (change) and anatta (no-soul).
Example
In his first sermon at Sarnath, the Buddha set out the Four Noble Truths: suffering exists, it has a cause, it can end, and there is a path to end it. The end of suffering is nibbāna, the "blowing out" of ego and desire.
Don't confuse with
- Nibbāna: dukkha is the problem, the suffering in life. Nibbāna is the goal, the state where suffering ends.
Related concepts
- Four Noble Truths
- Anicca
- Anatta
- Pratityasamutpada
- Middle path
- Eightfold Path
- Nibbana
- Sarnath
- Buddha's teachings to laity
- Panchashila of Buddhism