Buddhism places suffering, or dukkha, at the very heart of its analysis of human existence. It observes that birth, aging, sickness, and death all involve forms of pain and dissatisfaction, and that separation from what is loved, contact with what is disliked, and not getting what is desired are likewise marked by unease. Even pleasant experiences are seen as ultimately unsatisfactory, because they are impermanent and cannot offer lasting fulfillment. This broad understanding of dukkha includes obvious physical and mental pain, as well as the more subtle sense that conditioned life, taken as a source of ultimate security, cannot fully satisfy.

To explain why this pervasive suffering arises, Buddhism points to craving (tanhā) and attachment (upādāna), grounded in ignorance (avijjā). Craving appears as desire for sense pleasures, for continued existence or becoming, and even for non-existence, all of which bind beings to the cycle of rebirth, or saṃsāra. Attachment to a solid, enduring self intensifies this process, as clinging to what is by nature changing and insubstantial inevitably leads to frustration and fear. This dynamic is further articulated through the teaching of dependent origination, in which ignorance conditions mental formations and, through a chain of causes, culminates in birth, aging, and death.

Buddhism does not stop at diagnosis; it insists that suffering can cease. When craving and attachment are completely eliminated, the cycle that perpetuates dukkha is brought to an end. This cessation is called Nirvāṇa, described as the complete freedom from greed, hatred, and delusion, and as release from the round of birth and death. It is not a mere suppression of pain, but the uprooting of its causes, so that the mind no longer relates to experience through grasping and aversion.

The practical means for addressing suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path, which gathers the teachings into a disciplined way of life. It begins with Right View and Right Intention, cultivating wisdom that understands the Four Noble Truths, karma, impermanence, and non-self, and that inclines the mind toward renunciation, goodwill, and harmlessness. Ethical conduct is developed through Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood, shaping a life that avoids harm such as killing, stealing, and exploitation, and that speaks truthfully and kindly. Mental discipline is refined through Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration, which train the mind to abandon unwholesome states, sustain wholesome ones, maintain clear, non-attached awareness, and enter deep meditative absorption.

As these teachings are gradually embodied, several key insights begin to transform the experience of suffering. The recognition of impermanence (anicca) loosens the grip of clinging to what must inevitably change. The realization of non-self (anattā) undermines the illusion of a fixed, independent ego that must constantly defend and gratify itself. Through meditation, mindfulness, ethical living, and the cultivation of compassion and loving-kindness, the mind learns to meet the conditions of life with clarity rather than compulsion. In this way, suffering is not merely endured, but understood and transcended through a profound reorientation of vision and conduct.