Many scholars feel that “suffering” may be a misleading translation of the word dukkha Assignment | Get Paper Help

For the initial post, respond to the following options: Many scholars feel that “suffering” may be a misleading translation of the word dukkha. Why might the term suffering be misleading? What might be a better translation? What was the Buddha trying to explain in his commentary on dukkha? After you have answered the questions above. Compare it to that how Christians believe suffering is. * IT IS IMPERATIVE AND IMPORTANT THAT YOU INCLUDE THE PAGE NUMBERS FOR ALL CITATIONS IN THE IN TEXT CITATIONS* One of your source has to be the file that I have included. You must use that file as one of your sources

Molloy, M. (2013). Chapter Three: Hinduism. Experiencing the World’s Religions (6^th ed.). New York City, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2013, p. 129-135.

THE BASIC TEACHINGS OF BUDDHISM

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It is impossible to know exactly what the Buddha taught. He did not write down his teachings, nor did his early disciples. The only written versions were recorded several hundred years after his death, following centuries of being passed on orally—and of being interpreted in multiple ways. We must rely on the basic trustworthiness of both the oral traditions and the many written texts that pass on his teachings.

The written teachings that have come down to us are in a number of languages, all of which differ from the language (apparently a variation of Magadhi) spoken by the Buddha. One of the most important languages through which Buddhist teachings have been passed down is Pali, a language related to Sanskrit; another is Sanskrit itself—often called the Latin of India because of its widespread use in earlier years for scholarly works.

At the core of what is generally regarded as basic Buddhism are the Three Jewels (Sanskrit: Triratna; Pali: Tiratana)—that is, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. The Buddha is thought of as an ideal human being whom other human beings should imitate; the image of him, seated in meditation, is a constant model of self-control and mindfulness. He is not usually thought of as being dead but instead as existing in a timeless dimension beyond the world. The Dharma (Sanskrit), or Dhamma (Pali), means the sum total of Buddhist teachings about how to view the world and how to live properly. The Sangha is the community of monks and nuns.⁵

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The Buddha’s teachings are like the Buddha himself—practical. Surrounded in the India of his day by every kind of speculation about the afterlife, the nature of the divine, and other difficult questions, the Buddha concentrated on what was useful. He refused to talk about anything else—a benign neglect that has been called his noble silence. He said that a person who speculated about unanswerable questions was like a man who had been wounded by an arrow but refused to pull it out until he knew everything about the arrow and the person who shot it. The wounded man would die before he could get all the information he wanted.

The Buddha wished to concentrate on the two most important questions about existence: How can we minimize suffering—both our own and that of others? And how can we attain inner peace? The Buddha’s conclusions are not just intellectual solutions; they are also recommendations for a practical way of living. Buddhist doctrines are not meant to be accepted on blind faith; rather, it is up to each individual to experience them first as truths before accepting them.

The Three Marks of Reality

Common to all forms of Buddhism is a way of looking at the world. Although this view may seem pessimistic at first, it is meant to be a realistic assessment of existence that, when understood, ultimately helps lead a person to inner peace and even joy. According to this view, reality manifests three characteristics: constant change, a lack of permanent identity, and the existence of suffering. This view is the foundation for the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, which we will discuss shortly.

Change One of the things the Buddha recommended is that we look at life as it really is. When we do, he said, the first thing we notice is life’s constant change, or impermanence (Pali: anichcha; Sanskrit: anitya). We are often surprised by change—and pained by it—because we do not expect it, but the fact is that nothing we experience in life ever remains the same. We get used to things (our own face, family, friends, house, car, neighborhood), and they seem to remain basically the same every time we look at them. But that is an illusion, for they are changing daily, gradually. We usually only notice the changes over time.

Everyone knows the shock of change, such as seeing an old friend after being apart for many years, or looking at childhood photos. Even old movies on television and old songs on the radio—the performers now aged or even long gone—clearly convey the Buddhist sense of the inevitability of change. A family gathering can have the same effect: the death of a much-loved grandparent may be contrasted by the sight of a great-grandchild playing in a playpen in the corner.

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People’s viewpoints also change. Think of what the word love means to a five-year-old, a teenager, a new parent, or a person who has lost a spouse. Or imagine hearing the news of a divorce between two people you thought were well suited and happily married.

When we truly experience impermanence, we see that all of reality is in motion all the time, that the universe is in flux. As the kaleidoscope of reality slowly turns, its patterns change; and while old patterns disappear, new patterns are born, all of them interesting. As the Buddha taught, the wise person expects change, accepts it, and even savors it. The wise person might also reflect that just as pleasures do not last forever, neither do sorrows.

No Permanent Identity We know that the Buddha urged people to abandon egotism and a fixation on material objects. Related to this, he denied the existence of the permanent identity of anything. Thus, the second mark of reality is that each person and each thing is not only changing but is made up of parts that are also constantly changing, a concept referred to as “no permanent identity.” In the case of people, it is called “no permanent soul” or “no self.” The Pali term is anatta; in Sanskrit it is anatman (“no Atman”) because of the Buddha’s refusal to accept the Hindu notion of timeless, unchanging reality (Atman) underlying everything—people, things, essences, and gods.

For the sake of logical convenience, we often talk about each person or thing as if it were a single unified reality. Let us first consider something nonhuman, say, a car. We call it a car as if it were one single reality, but actually it is made up of many things—glass, aluminum, rubber, paint, headlights, belts, pistons, wires, and fluids—many of which are either in need of repair right now or probably soon will be.

Then think of how each human being, though called by a single name, is actually made up of organs, body parts, instincts, memories, ideas, and hopes—all of which are constantly changing. Consider also one’s self-perception. I naively think I am the same person from day to day, even if I get a haircut or lose weight or see a film. But if I recall myself at age 10 and then compare that person with who I am now, I seem now to be someone quite different.

To the Buddha, to believe that a person has some unchanging identity or soul is as mistaken as believing that a car has an unchanging essence. The car is not a car because it has a “car soul”; rather, it is a car because of a social convention that refers to its many related parts by a single word. This tendency is so strong that we sometimes think that a label (car) is the reality. Although the Buddhist view may seem strange at first, it is quite rational—and it helps eliminate surprise when my car won’t start, when a friend becomes distant, or when a photo reveals the inevitability of aging. All these changes show the same process at work.⁶

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Suffering The third characteristic of reality, known as dukkha (Pali), or duhkha (Sanskrit), is usually translated as “suffering” or “sorrow,” but it also means “dissatisfaction” or “dis-ease.” It refers to the fact that life, when lived conventionally, can never be fully satisfying because of its inescapable change. Even in the midst of pleasure, we often recognize that pleasure is fleeting. Even when all the bills are paid, we know that in a few days there will be more. Try as we might to put everything in our lives in order, disorder soon reasserts itself. In the midst of happy experiences, we may worry about the people we love. And there are times when ever-changing life brings misery: the death of a parent or spouse or child, divorce, sickness, fire, flood, earthquake, war, the loss of job or home.

Dukkha encompasses the whole range, from horrible suffering to everyday frustration. Someone once compared the inevitability of dukkha to buying a new car. Your car brings the pleasures of mobility and pride of ownership, but as you go for your first ride you know what lies ahead: insurance premiums, routine maintenance, and costly repairs.

The Buddha concluded that to live means inescapably to experience sorrow and dissatisfaction. But he analyzed the nature and causes of suffering much like a doctor would diagnose an illness—in order to understand and overcome them. Those who say that Buddhism pessimistically focuses on suffering do not see the hopeful purpose behind that focus. Indeed, no one can escape suffering, but each person can decide how to respond to it, as indicated in the Four Noble Truths.

The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path

Perhaps to aid in their memorization, some Buddhist teachings were grouped into fours and eights. The Four Noble Truths are a linked chain of truths about life: (1) suffering exists; (2) it has a cause; (3) it has an end; and (4) there is a way to attain release from suffering—namely, by following the Noble Eightfold Path. Let’s look at each concept more closely.

The First Noble Truth: To Live Is to Suffer To say it perhaps more descriptively, “birth is attended with pain, decay is painful, disease is painful, death is painful.”⁷ Having a body means that we can be tired and sick. Having a mind means that we can be troubled and discouraged. We have so many daily duties that our lives become a long list of things-to-do, and we feel like jugglers trying to keep too many balls spinning in the air. The past cannot be relived, and the future is uncertain. And every day, we have to decide what to do with the rest of our lives. (It has been remarked that adults so frequently ask children “What do you want to be when you grow up?” because the adults themselves are still trying to decide what to do with their own lives.)

To live means to experience anxiety, loss, and sometimes even anguish. In other words, “living means sorrow.” Although the message sounds dark, this truth urges us to be realistic, not melancholy; it is also hopeful in the sense that if we recognize why suffering comes about, then we can lessen it.

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The Second Noble Truth: Suffering Comes from Desire When he analyzed suffering, the Buddha saw that it comes from wanting what we cannot have and from never being satisfied with what we do have. The word trishna (Sanskrit), or tanha (Pali), which is often translated as “desire,” might better be translated as “thirst”; it can also be translated as “craving,” suggesting both an addiction and a fear of loss. Some of our desires are obvious: food, sleep, clothing, housing, health. Some desires are more subtle: privacy, respect, friendship, quiet, stresslessness, security, variety, beauty. And some desires are simply “wants” that are cultivated by our society: alcohol, designer clothes, tobacco, entertainment, expensive food. We all have desires, and because life around us is always changing, no matter how much we acquire we cannot be permanently satisfied. Desire is insatiable, and the result is discontent, dissatisfaction, and sometimes misery. But is there a way to be free of suffering?

The Third Noble Truth: To End Suffering, End Desire It is hard to argue with the reasonableness of this truth, yet it goes against modern Western notions. The Western tendency is to strain to achieve every imaginable desire. This tendency seems to thrive in cultures—such as many modern ones—that emphasize individual legal and moral rights, competition between individuals, and individual success in school, in one’s job, and in sports. Belief in a distinct and permanent self or an immortal soul may be the origin of such individualism. This tendency is rather different from the sense of self that comes from a worldview that values the individual’s membership in the group—a view of self more common, traditionally, in tribal and Asian cultures.

To our modern way of thinking, the Buddha’s recommendations may seem rather stark. Nevertheless, he himself left home and family and possessions because he believed—and taught—that any kind of attachment will bring inevitable suffering. The shaven head and special clothing of monks and nuns symbolize their radical detachment from worldly concerns.

Buddhists themselves recognize, though, that not everyone can be a monk. Consequently, this third truth is moderated for laypeople. It is commonly interpreted as a recommendation that everyone accept peacefully whatever occurs, aiming less for happiness and more for inner peace. The individual should concentrate on the present moment, not on the past or the future or one’s desires for them. Because times of happiness are always paid for by times of unhappiness (the pendulum swings in both directions), a certain emotional neutrality is the best path.

Look within.

Be still.

Free from fear and attachment,

Know the sweet joy of the way.

—The Dhammapada⁸

Acceptance is a step to inner peace if I recognize that what I have right now is actually enough. Ultimately, I have to accept my body, my talents, my family, and even my relatives. Of course, some adjustments can be made: I can move, have plastic surgery, change my job, or get a divorce. Ultimately, though, much of life simply has to be accepted—and appreciated when possible.

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The essence of the Third Noble Truth is this: I cannot change the outside world, but I can change myself and the way I experience the world.

The Fourth Noble Truth: Release from Suffering Is Possible and Can Be Attained by Following the Noble Eightfold Path The ultimate goal of Buddhism is nirvana (Sanskrit; Pali: nibbana). The term nirvana suggests many things: end of suffering, inner peace, and liberation from the limitations of the world. The word nirvana seems to mean “blown out,” or “cool,” suggesting that the fires of desire have been extinguished. Upon attaining nirvana, the individual has self-control and is no longer driven from inside by raging emotional forces or from outside by the unpredictable events of life. It may not necessarily imply the elimination of anger (stories tell of the Buddha’s getting angry at disputes within the monastic community), but it does suggest a general inner quiet. Nirvana is also believed to end karma and rebirth after the present life. (More will be said about nirvana later in this chapter.) To reach nirvana, Buddhism recommends following the Noble Eightfold Path.

The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to Inner Peace The eight “steps” of the path actually form a program that the Buddha taught will lead us toward liberation from the impermanence and suffering of reality. Together, they describe three main goals: to face life objectively, to live kindly, and to cultivate inner peace. Although they are often called “steps,” the eight recommendations are not to be practiced sequentially but rather all together. As it is usually translated, the Noble Eightfold Path sounds so old-fashioned that readers may not immediately perceive its practicality. But keep in mind that the word right in the following list is a translation of a word that might better be translated as “correct” or “complete.”

1. Right understandingI recognize the impermanence of life, the mechanism of desire, and the cause of suffering.

2. Right intentionMy thoughts and motives are pure, not tainted by my emotions and selfish desires.

3. Right speechI speak honestly and kindly, in positive ways, avoiding lies, exaggeration, harsh words.

4. Right actionMy actions do not hurt any other being that can feel hurt, including animals; I avoid stealing and sexual conduct that would bring hurt.

5. Right workMy job does no harm to myself or others.

6. Right effortWith moderation, I consistently strive to improve.

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7. Right meditation(right mindfulness) I use the disciplines of meditation (dhyana) and focused awareness to contemplate the nature of reality more deeply.

8. Right contemplationI cultivate states of blissful inner peace (samadhi).