what is dukkha in buddhism

Dukkha is a term found in Buddhist thought that refers to the true nature of all existence. It is often translated as "suffering," but it is better to consider it as unsatisfactoriness. Dukkha is one of the three basic characteristics of existence, along with impermanence and the absence of a self. There are three types of suffering distinguished in Buddhism: they result, respectively, from pain, such as old age, sickness, and death; from change, such as the disappointment that comes when the things we are fond of inevitably change and slip through our hands; and from conditioned states, such as the unsatisfactoriness of all conditioned phenomena. The circumstances of everyones life will include unpleasant experiences, but its the aversion to the unpleasantness that is dukkha dukkha. The origin of dukkha is craving or longing for the circumstances of our lives to be different. The Four Noble Truths in Buddhism are all about overcoming this "affliction" or "sickness" of dukkha in our lives through wisdom, conduct, and discipline.