FIRST TRUTH

THE NOBLE TRUTH OF SUFFERING


WHAT, now, is the Noble Truth of Suffering?
Birth is suffering; Decay is suffering; Death is suffering;
Sorrow, Lamentation, Pain, Grief, and Despair, are suffering; not to
get what one desires, is suffering; in short: the Five Groups of
Existence are suffering.
What, now, is Birth? The birth of beings belonging to this or that
order of beings, their being born, their conception and springing into
existence, the manifestation of the groups of existence, the arising
of sense activity-this is called Birth.
And what is Decay? The decay of beings belonging to this or that
order of beings; their getting aged, frail, grey, and wrinkled; the
failing of their vital force, the wearing out of the senses-this is
called Decay.
And what is Death? The parting and vanishing of beings out of this
or that order of beings, their destruction, disappearance, death,
the completion of their life-period, dissolution of the groups of
existence, the discarding of the body-this is called Death.
And what is Sorrow? The sorrow arising through this or that loss
or misfortune which one encounters, the worrying oneself, the state of
being alarmed, inward sorrow, inward woe-this is called Sorrow.
And what is Lamentation? Whatsoever, through this or that loss or
misfortune which befalls one, is wail and lament, wailing and
lamenting, the state of woe and lamentation this is called
Lamentation.
And what is Pain? The bodily pain and unpleasantness, the painful
and unpleasant feeling produced by bodily contact-this is called Pain.
And what is Grief? The mental pain and unpleasantness, the painful
and unpleasant feeling produced by mental contact-this is called
Grief.
And what is Despair? Distress and despair arising through this or
that loss or misfortune which one encounters, distressfulness, and
desperation-this is called Despair.
And what is the "suffering of not getting what one desires?" To
beings subject to birth there comes the desire: "O that we were not
subject to birth! O that no new birth was before us!" Subject to
decay, disease, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and
despair, the desire comes to them: "O that we were not subject to
these things! O that these things were not before us!" But this cannot
be got by mere desiring; and not to get what one desires, is
suffering.