[12Cickprior]

The Buddha says in the Pali Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta:

"Now this, monks, is the Noble Truth of dukkha: Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, death is dukkha; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, & despair are dukkha; association with the unbeloved is dukkha; separation from the loved is dukkha; not getting what is wanted is dukkha. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are dukkha."

My continued impression is that this 'life' or this 'world' is simply dukkha (dissatisfying/formed from suffering). Is this your view or is there a better view or way to understand this?

I'm late on this thread and I have not yet read all the replies, so this might be a repeat.

I liked Deshy's reply and agree with it. I'm often impressed by the clarity and simplicity of Deshy's comments.

There are many ways to answer your question. At the moment I'll take this approach:

Much of your question depends on how you translate "dukkha".

As you probably know, dukkha, in its literal sense refers to a broken cart wheel. Beyond that, you can make many inferences about exactly what Gautama Buddha meant by dukkha, from the context of the many sutras that mention it.

Sometimes I find it useful to stay close to the metaphor of a broken cart wheel. "Life is a rough ride. Life is often uncomfortable. Life is unreliable."

Dukkha is often translated as "All living things suffer." I think that's misleading.

By the way, do any of you scholars know who first translated "dukkha" as "All living things suffer"?

Obviously, people are often happy, and other animals are also often happy, or at least comfortable. Personally, I feel pretty good today. It seems silly to say that my happiness, today, at this moment is "illusory."

If you return to the idea of a "rough ride," even rocky roads have smooth stretches, deserts have oases, and so on.

Sometimes I think of "unsettled weather" instead of a "rough ride" or "broken wheel." I think the Buddha might have meant something along those lines, though I don't think he ever used that metaphor. The weather might be pleasant at the moment. Will it last five minutes or all day? At any moment it might turn unpleasant. If it rains hard, the resulting flood might kill me. If it turns hot and muggy, it might make me very uncomfortable, even miserable.

Life is uncertain. You might get some of the things you want, or you might be repeatedly disappointed. You might get most of the things you want, but even if you do, new desires will take the place of the old ones, and you might remain dissatisfied. You might be happy today, but there is no guarantee that you will be happy tomorrow. Sudden misfortune might crush you with grief tomorrow. Nothing is certain, there is no way to protect yourself from misfortune. If you live a comfortable and fortunate life, you might enjoy it very much and hope that it will never end. But you will get old and die and you must live with that fact, even when you are young and healthy.

Pleasure and good fortune are dukkha, too, because you soon take them for granted, and miss them all the more when they are gone, and fear their loss even while you still have them. Comfort is dukkha too, because you become accustomed to comfort, and feel all the more uncomfortable when it is taken away.

I'm not sure that any notable teacher or scripture teaches dukkha quite this way. Do others think I have understood it correctly?

It interests me that the book of Ecclesiastes, in the Bible, says about the same thing:

...the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

Bopshi