This I teach, and this alone . . .

From Monday, January 11, 2016

Tradition has the historical Buddha saying something like, “This I teach, and this alone:  dukkhā and the end of dukkhā.”

Let’s define dukkhā.  Often translated into English as “suffering,” the Pāḷi term encompasses much, much more.  Dukkhā has the sense of the experience of being affected by or being subjected to (something bad or unpleasant).  As said in the previous post, dukkhā is the state or condition we find ourselves in when we want our desires met, and they aren’t, and/or we want things to be different, and they are not. 

“Suffering” just isn’t adequate to encompass all of the scents, and flavors, and hues of dukkhā.  Maybe the following list of English words (and a few phrases) will give you some sense of the breadth and depth of dukkhā.  Its not complete, but it might be helpful.

abide

abraded

abused

accident

ache

adversity

affliction

aggitated

aggravated

aggravation

aggrieved

agitation

agony

alarmed

amazement

anger

angry

angst

anguish

anguished misery

annoyance

annoyed

antagonized

anxiety

apprehension

apprehensiveness

astonishment

bad luck

be affected by

be afflicted by/with

be damaged

be demoralized

be despondent

be discouraged

be impaired

be in distress

be in pain

be miserable

be pessimistic

be troubled with

be upset

bear

blow

bothered

bugged

burdened

burned

burned up

butterflies (in one's stomach)

calamity

catastrophe

chafed

chagrin

chagrined

complete emptiness

concern

consternation

crisis

cross

dander up

decline

deep anxiety

defeatism

depression

desolation

despair

despairing

desperation

despondency

deteriorate

difficulties

difficulty

disaster

discomposure

disconsolate

disconsolateness

discouragement

disgruntled

disheartenment

dismay

displeasure

displeasure

disquiet

disquietude

distress

dread

emotional unrest

endure

exasperated

exasperation

excoriated

exhausted

fear

fearfulness

fed up

feel pain

foreboding

formal brook

frazzled

fright

galled

give up

gone around the bend

gone bananas

gotten to

grief

hackles up

hard times

hardship

hassled

heartache

heartbreak

heebie-jeebies

hope abandoned

hopeless

hopelessness

hot under the collar

huffy

hurt

ill at ease

ill luck

ill winds

impatient

in a bad mood

in a huff

in a temper

incensed

inconvenienced

indignation

infuriated

inquietude

irate

irked

irritated

irritation

jitteriness

jitters

literary dolor

loneliness

lose faith

lose heart

lose hope

mad

maddened

malaise

melancholy

miffed

misadventure

miserable

miserly

misery

misfortune

misgiving

misgivings

mishap

needled

nerves

nervous

nervousness

nettled

pain

pangs

panic

peeved

perturbation

pessimism

pestered

piqued

PO'd

provoked

put out

put up with

put upon

rankled

rasped

rattled

rejection

resign oneself

reverse

riled

rubbed the wrong way

ruffled feathers

ruffled fur

sadness

scratched

setback

shock

sore

sorrow

stand

stress

stressed

Sturm und Drang

suffering

surprise

teed off

tenseness

tension

testy

the creeps

the heebie-jeebies

the jitters

the shivers

the willies

throes

ticked off

tolerate

torment

torture

tragedy

trauma

traumatic

trepidation

trial

trials

trials and tribulations

tribulation

trouble

twitchiness

unease

uneasiness

unhappiness

up the wall

upset

vexation

vexed

woe

worry

wretchedness

wroth

What words describe or define the dukkhā you’ve had today?