dukkha

American

[doo-kuh] / ˈdu kə /

noun

Buddhism.

the first of the Four Noble Truths, that all human experience is transient and that suffering results from excessive desire and attachment.

dukkha British

/ ˈdukə /

noun

Sanskrit word: duhkha. (in Theravada Buddhism) the belief that all things are suffering, due to the desire to seek permanence or recognize the self when neither exist: one of the three basic characteristics of existence Compare anata anicca

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of dukkha

From Pali

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It is our tendency to impose permanence upon that which by nature is not, or our craving for ontological persistence, that best captures this sense of dukkha.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

A more accurate understanding of dukkha within this context must include all three senses of suffering.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023