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The predicament of dukkha and the way to freedom from it are the chief motivation of the Buddhist soteriological enterprise. According to a dictum found in the early Buddhist discourses, what the Buddha teaches is simply the nature of dukkha and its cessation (Trenckner and Chalmers 1888–1896, I 140). While the existence of dukkha as a motivation for adopting a spiritual life appears to have been a common concept in ancient Indian thought, the Buddhist approach to this problem stands out for conceptualizing the human predicament of dukkha in terminology reminiscent of medical analysis, namely, by way of the four noble truths (Truths, Four Noble). From the perspective of the dialogue between science and religions, this is significant, since in this way Buddhism presents its perhaps most central teaching deliberately couched in medical terms.
The term dukkhais often translated as “suffering.” This translation...
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References
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Carpenter, J. E., & Rhys Davids, T. W. (Eds.). (1890–1911). The Dīgha Nikāya (3 vols). London/Oxford: Pali Text Society.
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Anālayo, B. (2013). Dukkha. In: Runehov, A.L.C., Oviedo, L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sciences and Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8265-8_1616
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