(continued from the previous post)
Dukkha
Many translations of the word dukkha into English
have now been around for almost a century and a half since Buddhism
was introduced to Europe. dukkha has been
translated into English as suffering , illness and
unsatisfactoriness. I would like to say that none of these retains
the true meaning of dukkha but instead the word
dukkha covers all these meanings and more.
Actually, dukkha embraces the whole of existence,
whether sentient or non-sentient, animate or inanimate; happiness,
suffering, like, or dislike, a pleasant or unpleasant condition or
a neutral one, all come under dukkha . Each of
these is classified as dukkha not necessarily
because it is a kind of suffering as it is understood but simply
because it is changing constantly, all the time, at any moment. All
those things, happy or unhappy, they come and go, begin and end.
The whole process of this world just operates in this way. For this
very reason, they are dukkha . The Buddha taught
us in His First sermon in a very simple way: whatever is
impermanent or changing, all that is dukkha . (Yad
aniccam tam dukkham). Before he said so he
observed the whole world and found nothing but a process of change.
So changing means the world. The
very characteristic of our existence that remains there all the
time is but change whether for better or for worse.
We fall ill and we suffer. That is suffering and that suffering is
dukkha . It comes and goes. We enjoy good fortune
and that fortune is not everlasting but will one day go. Human
beings are born and will definitely die. That is
dukkha .
We get into a bus and sometimes we have to sit next to some one who
appears to us very unpleasant. That is dukkha . If
you react to the situation by thinking, "Today I am very unlucky to
be meeting such people, I am stupid to be here on this bus", then
you are creating dukkha . We meet someone
somewhere in our life and at a certain point, we each have to go
our own way. So we feel sad. That is dukkha. If
you do not try to experience the meeting or the departing
mindfully, as it is, but reacting - again, you are creating
dukkha out of it. We want a Mercedes Benz car and
we get it. We are happy but now people say a BMW, or a Rolls Royce
is better, more luxurious. We are no longer content with our
Mercedes Benz. This is dukkha. We feel frustrated
at work. This is dukkha. We want a word of thanks
from someone, from our boss, from our neighbours but we are
criticised instead. Therefore, this is dukkha. To
get it is all right. An appreciation is good. But if that makes us
get caught up in that sort of esteem then we cling to it. We keep
expecting to it more and more. This is dukkha
.
We want our child to behave in a certain way but it turns out just
the opposite. So we feel disappointed. Disappointment is again
dukkha. All
these bear the nature of arising and falling away. They come and
go.
In this world, we feel anxious, despairing, frustrated, irritated,
upset, disappointed, discomfort, anguish, painful and disgusted.
Therefore, these are dukkha in their nature, not because the
Buddha said they are dukkha .
Sometimes we have a success and feel very satisfied with our own
performance. However, this satisfaction itself is again
dukkha , simply because it does not stay forever.
In a higher stage of meditation practice, you do not feel any
mental annoyance at all. It is very calm and peaceful. It is called
Sukha - happiness. Again,
this happiness is dukkha, not because it causes
unhappiness or suffering at that moment but because it does not
stay forever. It changes. It starts and finishes. So it is
dukkha . You see dukkha does not
cover only the negative side of life but the positive one as
well.
Actually dukkha , I emphasise again, means the
world. I just cannot see anything, which is not
dukkha . Alternatively, to put it in a very simple
way, all we experience is dukkha - whether it is
through eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body or mind. To Buddhist
analysis the world means only what we experience in our daily life
through our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. We experience
the so-called world through these six sense doors. It is all
dukkha because of its inability to be
satisfactory.
What to do then? dukkha ! Suffering! Oh no, I do
not want that, nobody wants to hear it, it attracts no one to
listen to it. We want to end dukkha , which
appears mostly in a painful manner in this world. Can we just
ignore or run away to get rid of it? It will not work. The human
habit is to ignore it because they do not want it. With the desire
to end dukkha , you may form a serious idea of
getting away from it. The idea itself is all right. Nevertheless,
once you are caught in that idea, then that clinging again becomes
dukkha . Without understanding, what we tend to do
is to cling to that idea.
So what to do?
There are two things we can do; first is to recognise that there is
dukkha and then to try to understand the nature of
dukkha . It means to learn about it as it is, and
try to experience it the way it is without reacting in a habitual
way, without judging its value.
The Lord Buddha said there is dukkha instead of
saying I am suffering or you are suffering. Notice this.
Dukkha is there, not personal, it is common to
Asians and Europeans, to Burmese, Sri Lankan, British, American and
others. Dukkha is experienced in the same way by a
homeless person and by Queen Elizabeth. Being with someone you do
not really like is felt in just the same way by anybody whether it
is to Princess Diana or a poor woman. Separation is painfully
experienced by anybody ... be it the first lady of Peru or a wife
of an Unknown Soldier. Death brings painful experience to any one
related to it. Mr. Onassis, the then richest man in the world found
no relief over the death of his son. This kind of painful
experience spares no one, rich or poor. You do not want to become
old; neither do I. But this experience is just there as a
fact.
The human experience is there. And dukkha is
there. It is the common bond that we all share.
What we have to do in this stage is, may I repeat again, to
recognise that there is dukkha.
Dukkha is there but it needs recognition. It
requires an acknowledgment. This is a starting point. From this, we
can go on. The Lord Buddha spoke in a very clear and precise way.
dukkha must be understood, it must be penetrated
(parinnyeya ).
To understand it we must first be aware of the facts on which our
daily life is based. This awareness is called mindfulness or Sati.
With mindfulness, your mind will become contemplative, receptive,
and not impulsive, not rejecting. Then investigate the real nature
of that fact. This is called investigation of nature=Dhamma vicaya.
Both form factors of enlightenment ( Bojjhanga ). The remedy in
Buddhism is the Noble Eightfold Path. Each of us has to walk on the
Path on our own to get to our destination.(Paccattam veditabbo=the
truth is understood individually , one of the six characteristics
of the Buddha's teaching.)
To summarise my talk,the Lord Buddha said, "Look at the world as a
pleasure, then as a danger and then there is liberation from that
danger."( Assada , adinava , and nissarana ).With understanding of
dukkha, compassion starts growing in our heart.
Suffering is the object of compassion.
May you all be happy !!
