Samsara, Dukkha and Nirvana

Samsara, Dukkha and Nirvana

Buddhism, a profound and deep concept, seems to elude the understanding of most members of the western world. It contains many philanthropic terms which are thrown around in conversations, tossed like waves in the ocean, with no accurate or clear grasp on their true significance and meaning. Three of those terms are Samsara, Dukkha and Nirvana. What are these three words and what kind of relationship do they have with one another? Is Samsara different from or the same as Nirvana? These are important, common questions which, at times, escape the understanding of even the most intelligent of people, but all three play a vitally important role in understanding Buddhism.
Samsara, which literally means cyclic existence, is a common term used in Buddhism. Samsara is a vicious cycle of birth and death and rebirth within the 6 realms of existence, which are, suffering, emptiness, imperfection, insubstantiality and impermanence, also referred to as Dukkha. The questions are often raised, but doesn’t life have a beginning? When did this Samsara start? The Buddha had a very wise and accurate answer to this common question and it is illustrated very well in “What the Buddha Taught” by Walpola Rahula. “According to the Buddha’s teachings, the beginning of the life-stream of living beings is unthinkable (27).” He further comments on the Buddha’s statement concerning the nature of Samsara when the Buddha says: “O bhikkus, this cycle of continuity (Samsara) is without a visible end, and the first beginning of beings wandering and running around, enveloped in ignorance and bound down by the fetters of thirst, is not to be perceived (27).” Our cyclic, dukkha filled existence, has no beginning and no end and can be viewed of as extremely unpleasant.
In of our lives, there are certain things which we all share and which are all part of being human. We all share life, death, aging, sickness and emotion. Because of the fact that we all share these commonalities, we experience...