Suffering is a word that shows up a lot in spiritual teachings,
Especially,
Though not limited to,
Those from Buddhist traditions.
This use of the word suffering is as a translation of the Pali word dukkha,
Which was central to the Buddha's teaching.
This word was so central to his teaching,
In fact,
That it's written in the Alagadhupama Sutta that the Buddha said the following.
Both formerly and now monks,
I declare only dukkha and the cessation of dukkha.
Only dukkha and the cessation of dukkha?
This could be taken to mean,
And I have it on good authority that this is indeed the case,
That this is all the Buddha ever taught,
And all of his other discourse was an elaboration on this simple teaching.
Dukkha and the cessation of dukkha.
So,
If we take the Buddha to be one of the most celebrated teachers in history,
And we trust that his teachings were recorded with even a modest degree of accuracy,
Then we must take this Pali word dukkha to be a very important word.
And,
In case there's still some scepticism,
This word dukkha shows up all over the Pali suttas.
Besides,
Once we have an understanding of the translation,
We can perform a far more effective confirmation of the importance of this word dukkha.
We can examine what it points to in our own direct experience.
So,
Let's talk about that translation.
Pali,
So I'm told,
Was a language rich in imagery and allegory.
And this makes it very tough to translate.
Many Pali words can be taken to have multiple valid translations,
And this word dukkha is no exception.
The question we must answer when we consider the various translations of this word is which one is best suited to our purpose.
I've come across three different options.
The first,
Suffering,
Is the one most people are familiar with.
It's the most common,
And the most effective in terms of marketing.
Wouldn't you like to be free of suffering?
I certainly would.
The issue with this translation,
And the reason that it's so great for selling books and retreats,
Is because most folks equate suffering with pain.
And wouldn't you like to be free of pain?
I certainly would.
But this is not what the Buddha meant when he spoke about dukkha.
As far as I'm aware,
There's no claim in the suttas that one can become free of pain.
The distinction between pain and suffering,
For our purposes,
Is simple.
I eat too much ice cream,
I get a stomach ache.
And now I have a choice.
Suffer the fact that I have a stomach ache,
Or laugh at my fat self for being so greedy.
It's this suffering that can be brought to cessation with spiritual practice.
No amount of practice will free us of the reality of having a physical feeling sense,
And honestly,
We wouldn't want it to.
So,
We see the inherent problem with using the word suffering as a translation of the word dukkha.
The second translation I've come across is stress.
The issue with this word is one of difference between the way in which it's intended for teaching purposes and the way that it's used commonly.
The word stress in the 21st century has basically come to mean what happens at work.
Sure,
It can happen in other situations too,
Like arranging a wedding or getting stuck in traffic.
But this word stress in modern usage has the flavour of something that's happening to us,
Like an illness,
As opposed to something we're creating ourselves.
And what can spiritual practice do about something which is happening to us?
Absolutely nothing.
The world is always going to do its thing,
No matter how much we practice.
We practice to change how we relate to what's happening,
How we interpret what's happening.
And to stop creating unhelpful conditions for ourselves.
Now,
I suspect that in teachings where the translation stress is used,
Great care is taken to define the meaning of the word for their purposes.
Sounds like a lot of work though.
The third translation of Dukkha,
Which I will now present,
Is the most direct and the most useful.
It's also the least poetic.
This third translation is dissatisfaction.
It's unlikely to sell many books,
And when I ask if you'd like to be free of dissatisfaction,
You're probably not as excited as you were when I used the word suffering in this sentence earlier.
However,
When we consider that earlier distinction that had to be made between pain and suffering,
We see that the word dissatisfaction avoids this difficulty entirely.
Dissatisfaction is very obviously a mental thing,
And it's very obviously self-created.
Dissatisfaction is obviously something extra,
Something on top of that ice cream-induced stomachache.
Dissatisfaction is obviously optional.
Having this kind of clarity at the root of our spiritual practice is of great benefit.
Practice is not about somehow stopping bad things from happening.
Practice is not about somehow dulling the feeling sense so that physical pain can be avoided.
Practice is about accepting the present moment as it is.
Practice is about becoming satisfied regardless of circumstances.
If you've ever tried to stop pain,
You'll know that it's not possible.
If you've ever tried to stop what we typically call stress once that train is already rolling,
You'll know that it's not possible.
But if you've ever been feeling a little bummed out,
And then you've taken a deep breath and said to yourself,
You know,
Things really aren't so bad,
Then you already have insight into how dissatisfaction can be ceased with a change of mind.
This is exactly what the Buddha declared,
Both formally and now.
We can even learn to be satisfied whilst there is pain,
Whilst there is stress.
So,
Let's take this clarity regarding exactly what we're concerning ourselves with in practice,
And let's practice.
Let's investigate dissatisfaction as we sit,
And as we go about our day.
Let's remember that when we accept the present moment exactly as it is,
Dissatisfaction ceases.
And in this cessation,
Let's celebrate successful practice.
