Sukha
| Sukha | |
| Thai name | |
|---|---|
| Thai | , IPA: [sukha] |
| Chinese name | |
| Chinese | 樂 (佛教) (Lè) simplified: 乐 |
| Japanese name | |
| Japanese | 樂 (佛教) (Raku) |
| Table 1: Jhāna-related factors. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| first jhāna |
second jhāna |
third jhāna |
fourth jhāna |
|
|
sensuality (kāma), unskillful qualities (akusala dhamma) |
secluded from, withdrawn |
|||
|
applied thought (vitakka) |
accom- panies jhāna |
stilled | ||
|
sustained thought (vicāra) |
||||
|
rapture (pīti) |
seclusion- born; pervades body |
samādhi- born; pervades body |
fades away (as does distress) |
|
|
pleasure (sukha) |
pervades physical body |
aban- doned (as is pain) |
||
|
pure, mindful equanimity (upekkhā- sati- pārisuddhi) |
[internal confidence, mental unification] |
equani- mous, mindful |
mindfull; neither pleasure nor pain |
|
| Source: AN 5.28 (Thanissaro, 1997) * | ||||
Sukha (Sanskrit, Pali; Devanagari: ) means happiness, pleasure, ease, or bliss, in Sanskrit and Pali. Among the early scriptures, 'sukha' is set up as a contrast to 'preya' (प्रेय) meaning a transient pleasure, whereas the pleasure of 'sukha' has an authentic state happiness within a being that is lasting. In the Pāli Canon, the term is used in the context of describing laic pursuits, meditative absorptions, and intra-psychic phenomena.
According to Monier-Williams (1964), the etymology of sukha is "said to be su ['good'] + kha ['aperture'] and to mean originally 'having a good axle-hole'...." Thus, for instance, in the Rig Veda sukha denotes "running swiftly or easily" (applied, e.g., to chariots). Sukha is juxtaposed with duḥkha (Sanskrit; Pali: dukkha; often translated as "suffering"), which was established as the major motivating life principles in early Vedic religion. This theme of the centrality of dukkha was developed in later years in both Vedic and the offshoot Buddhist traditions. The elimination of dukkha is the raison d'être of early Buddhism.
In the Pali Canon and related literature, the term is used in a general sense to refer to "well-being and happiness" (hitasukha) in either this present life or future lives. In addition, it is a technical term associated with describing a factor of meditative absorption (jhāna) and a sensory-derived feeling (vedanā).
In the Pali Canon, the Buddha discusses with different lay persons "well-being and happiness" (hitasukha) "visible in this present life" (diṭṭha-dhamma) and "pertaining to the future life" (samparāyika), as exemplified by the following suttas.
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