The Three Marks of Existence: Dukkha PDF

# Chapter 1 Beliefs and teachings ## 1.7 The Three Marks of Existence: Dukkha ### The Three Marks of Existence * Buddhism teaches that there are three characteristics that are fundamental to all things. These are: * suffering (dukkha) * impermanence (anicca) * having no perman...

# Chapter 1 Beliefs and teachings ## 1.7 The Three Marks of Existence: Dukkha ### The Three Marks of Existence * Buddhism teaches that there are three characteristics that are fundamental to all things. These are: * suffering (dukkha) * impermanence (anicca) * having no permanent, fixed self or soul (anatta) * For Buddhists, understanding these three characteristics as part of life is important for achieving enlightenment. ### What is Dukkha? * Dukkha is a fundamental concept in Buddhism. * It has many different meanings but is best translated into English as suffering, dissatisfaction or unsatisfactoriness. * Buddhists try to reduce suffering for themselves and others through right actions and intentions, and by gradually increasing their understanding of reality. * Eventually they hope to break the cycle of samsara and achieve nibbana. * The main reason why the Buddha left his life of luxury in the palace was to search for an answer to why people suffer. * After the Buddha became enlightened, he gave a sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath (a city in India). He spoke of the seven states of suffering. * The first four of these (birth, old age, sickness and death) refer to the suffering caused by samsara, while the other three refer to further types of suffering that people experience in their lives. #### The Seven States of Suffering 1. Birth 2. Old age 3. Sickness 4. Death 5. Sorrow, Lamination and Despair 6. Contact with Unpleasant things 7. Not getting what one wishes for ### Different Types of Dukkha #### Suffering * The first type of dukkha (called dukkha-dukkhata) refers to ordinary pain or suffering. * It is used to describe both physical and mental (emotional) pain. * Examples might include breaking a leg, getting the flu, being separated from and missing someone you love, or being upset at not achieving a goal. #### Change * Another type of dukkha (viparinama-dukkha) is produced by change. * One of the Buddha's teachings is that nothing is permanent - things are always changing. * These might be small changes (such as the weather turning cloudy), gradual changes (such as getting older), or larger changes (such as moving to a new city). * When something changes and a sense of happiness is lost as a result, this is viparinama-dukkha. * It refers to the sorrow and unhappiness that a person feels as a result of a change or losing something good. * Viparinama-dukkha can also be experienced during something good, as a subtle sense of unease and sorrow that comes from knowing the good thing won't last. Therefore, even happiness can be seen as dukkha. #### Attachment * The third type of dukkha (samkhara-dukkha) is linked to the idea of attachment. * Buddhism teaches that everyone is attached to other people, objects, activities and many other things. * But when people crave and try to hold on to the things they are attached to, they suffer. * This is perhaps the hardest form of dukkha to understand. * It is often described as a more subtle dissatisfaction with life. * Unlike dukkha-dukkhata and viparinama-dukkha, it may not arise due to specific events (such as twisting an ankle or ending a relationship). * It is more to do with a general dissatisfaction with life that arises from many things, including the unhappiness that comes from change and from craving things that are not possible to have. ### Objectives * Examine what is meant by the three marks of existence. * Understand the concept of dukkha. ### Key Term * Dukkha: the first noble truth; there is suffering ### Research Activity * Find three examples from the Buddha's life of occasions when he suffered. * What types of dukkha did he experience during these times of suffering? ### Activities 1. Give examples of some of the things that give people pleasure in their lives, and the ways in which they are only temporary. 2. Think of as many different words or phrases as you can for dukkha (such as 'suffering' or ' sorrow'). ### Summary * You should now understand the concept of dukkha and be able to identify different forms of dukkha, with examples. * You should be able to see how dukkha impacts on all aspects of life. ### Discussion Activity * With a partner, come up with as many examples as you can of the three different types of dukkha (dukkha-dukkhata, viparinama-dukkha and samkhara-dukkha). * Do some of your examples fit into more than one category? ### Study Tip * Here is another example to show the differences between the three types of dukkha: you feel lonely because you miss your family, which is dukkha-dukkha. You eat a cake to cheer yourself up, which gives you temporary pleasure, but you then feel lonely again - this is viparinama-dukkha. You feel generally unhappy about life, which is samkhara-dukkha.