dukkha

Buddhist concept of the suffering that arises from a person's clinging desire (Pali tanha, Sanskrit samudaya or trishna) to that which is inevitably impermanent, changing, and perishable. It includes the suffering caused by the unsatisfactory nature of life, including feelings of dissatisfaction and the need for something that is missing yet indefinable. Dukkha is one of the three characteristics of existence in Buddhism, along with anicca (impermanence) and anatta (no soul).

Dukkha encompasses the extreme suffering caused by disasters and tragedy, or the suffering that arises from day-to-day existence, such as feelings of pain, loneliness, or worry. Attachments that give rise to dukkha include pleasant experiences, states of comfort or well-being, or relationships, all being subject to inevitable change and loss. To recognize that life is ‘suffering’ is the first of the Four Noble Truths. This is not to suggest that Buddhist teaching is pessimistic, rather that while there may be joy experienced at one stage of life, no one can avoid times of old age, uncertainty, or illness.