- The First Noble Truth: Dukkha
Dukkha has generally been translated as
'suffering', but this term used as the Four Noble
Truth has a deeper and wider meaning. Dukkha
contains not only the ordinary meaning of
suffering but also includes deeper ideas such as
imperfection, pain, impermanence, disharmony,
discomfort, irritation or awareness of
incompleteness and insufficiency.The Buddha said: All compounded things are
subject to Dukkha. Dukkha is universal whether
a person realizes it. If he prefers to see things
differently from what they are, his lesson has
yet to be learned. Time and his experiences will
be his teachers.Dukkha is linked to impermanence (Anicca).
Nothing is the same at this moment as it was
one moment ago. Even the 'everlasting' hills are
slowly being worn away. Every particle of the
human body, even the hardest, is replaced
every seven years. There is no finality or rest
within this universe. There is only a ceaseless
becoming and a never-ending change.Like all other natural processes, Anicca is cyclic.
It is an ever-rolling wheel with four spokes:
Birth, Growth, Decay, and Death. Every form
that comes into being, including a china vase, a
code of laws, an empire, goes through each
stage and comes to the inevitable end. And the
same applies to man himself. He is born,
matures, grow old, becomes sick and dies.What is considered as suffering? Birth, decay,
disease, death, associating with the unpleasant,
separation from the pleasing, not to get what
one wants, and the five aggregates of
attachment* are suffering.It is suffering to live with other people who
scream and curse at each other every day. It is
suffering not being able to concentrate for
tomorrow's examinations because your
inconsiderate neighbors have the habit of
playing mahjong until the early hours of the
morning.It is suffering when someone you love - your
parents, wife, a good friend passes away. It is
suffering to be accused for something you are
not responsible for, to be jilted by a loved one,
to lose a job, or to be insulted by the boss in
front of your office colleagues.Dukkha arises because the thing we desire
undergoes changes. A happy feeling is not
permanent. Too often the things we ardently
desire for turns to dust and ashes once it has
been attained. Clinging at pleasure is like
grasping fine sand in our fist. It escapes through
our fingers even while we are holding it.
And when pleasure leaves, emptiness takes its
place. We are overcome with yearning. So, we
live constantly on hope, which cheats us in the
very moment of its fulfilment.*See Dr. W. Rahula, What The Buddha Taught,
pp.20 - 26