Dukkha: Suffering in Early Buddhism

The book begins with an introduction to the centrality of suffering in human existence and Indian philosophical inquiry, presenting dukkha as the motivating concern behind religious and philosophical reflection. It then surveys the treatment of suffering in non-Buddhist Indian systems, including Cārvāka, Sāṅkhya-Yoga, Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā, Advaita Vedānta, and Jainism, in order to clarify the intellectual background against which early Buddhism developed its own analysis. The third chapter examines the conception of dukkha in early Buddhism through the Four Noble Truths, the meaning, sources, and types of suffering, the Buddhist assessment of pleasure, and the question of whether Buddhism should be considered pessimistic. The fourth chapter studies the origin of suffering through the doctrines of anattā, the five khandhas, consciousness, selfhood, causality, kamma, and dependent origination. The fifth chapter presents the means of deliverance from dukkha, especially the Five Hindrances, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the threefold discipline of sīla, samādhi, and paññā. The sixth chapter analyzes Nibbāna, including its meaning, kinds, and interpretive controversies, while the final chapter consolidates the book’s main findings on suffering, its origin, and liberation.