When asked what he taught, the Buddha said he taught only one thing: "Suffering and the end of suffering." However, the Pali/Sanskrit word duhkha points to a reality of existence more nuanced than the word "suffering" would lead us to expect. In this short episode, I introduce this concept, and some of the various ways it's been understood as a way to make sense of the statement often made by Buddhist yogis that "life is suffering."

To offer Dana, click here. 

To read a more in-depth exploration of duhkha in the context of the Four Noble Truths, check out this blog essay.