Dukkha Dukkha (duḥkha) is an important Buddhist concept, commonly translated as “suffering“, “pain”, “unsatisfactoriness” or “stress”. It refers to the fundamental unsatisfactoriness and painfulness of mundane life. It is the first of the Four Noble Truths and it is one of the three marks of existence. The term is also found in...
Suffering Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, may be an experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual. Suffering is the basic element that makes up the negative valence of affective phenomena. The opposite of suffering is pleasure or happiness. Suffering is often...
Persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, imprisonment, internment, fear, or pain are all factors that may establish...
Pain In Animals Pain negatively affects the health and welfare of animals. “Pain” is defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.” Only the person experiencing the pain can know the...
Religious Views On Euthanasia There are many religious views on euthanasia, although many moral theologians are critical of the procedure. Buddhism There are many views among Buddhists on the issue of euthanasia, but many are critical of the procedure. An important value of Buddhism teaching is compassion. Compassion is used...
What Is Euthanasia? Euthanasia (“good death”: εὖ, eu; “well” or “good” thanatos; “death“) is the practice of intentionally ending a life to relieve pain and suffering. Different countries have different euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics defines euthanasia as “a deliberate intervention undertaken with the...
A Friend Named Adversity Whoever will have nothing to do with thorns, can never gather roses. The brook that flows over stones makes the sweetest music. If you remove the rocks, the brook will lose its song. Blessings thrive in afflictions’ soil. Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes. The...
Mechanisms of Mindfulness Meditation Mindfulness has been defined in modern psychological terms as “paying attention to relevant aspects of experience in a nonjudgmental manner”, and maintaining attention on present moment experience with an attitude of openness and acceptance. Meditation is a platform used to achieve mindfulness. Both practices, mindfulness and...
Meditation And Pain Meditation and pain is the study of the physiological mechanisms underlying meditation-specifically its neural components- that implicate it in the reduction of pain perception.[1] Meditation is a behavioral method that has been used for several thousand years to monitor and regulate emotion and attention.[2] Broadly speaking, meditation...