Can you explain the difference between dukkha and unpleasant vedana?

Certainly! Both “dukkha” and “vedana” are foundational concepts in Buddhism, but they address different aspects of human experience.

1. Dukkha:

• Definition: Often translated as “suffering,” “unsatisfactoriness,” or “stress,” dukkha is one of the Four Noble Truths, which diagnose the pervasive nature of unsatisfactoriness in life and its causes.
• Categories: There are typically three types of dukkha:
  1. Dukkha-dukkha: The obvious physical and mental suffering associated with birth, growing old, illness, and dying.
  2. Viparinama-dukkha: The suffering associated with change. It relates to the pain that arises from the fact that pleasurable experiences are impermanent and inevitably change.
  3. Sankhara-dukkha: The subtle suffering tied to conditioned states, referring to the basic unsatisfactoriness of all conditioned phenomena, even during seemingly happy moments.
• Scope: Dukkha is a broad and pervasive characteristic of the conditioned world, encompassing physical pain, emotional anguish, existential angst, and the subtlest forms of tension.

1. Vedana:

• Definition: “Vedana” is typically translated as “feeling” or “sensation.” In Buddhist psychology, vedana is one of the five aggregates (skandhas) that constitute individual experience.
• Categories: Vedana is categorized into three types:
  1. Pleasant (Sukha Vedana): Feelings or sensations that are experienced as enjoyable or pleasurable.
  2. Unpleasant (Dukkha Vedana): Feelings or sensations that are experienced as painful or uncomfortable. This shouldn’t be confused with the broader concept of “dukkha” mentioned above. Here, it refers specifically to a direct, unpleasant sensory experience.
  3. Neutral (Adukkhamasukha Vedana): Feelings or sensations that are neither pleasant nor unpleasant.
• Scope: Vedana pertains to the immediate sensory experience that arises from contact between sense organs and their respective objects. It’s the raw “feeling tone” that’s either pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral.

In summary:

• Dukkha is a broader philosophical concept that describes the inherent unsatisfactoriness or suffering in life and existence.
• Unpleasant vedana is a direct, immediate sensory experience that feels uncomfortable or painful. It’s just one specific kind of sensation among the three types of vedana.

While unpleasant vedana is a manifestation of dukkha at the sensory level, dukkha itself encompasses a much wider range of experiences, from the grossest to the most subtle forms of unsatisfactoriness.

So becoming enlightened means that dukkha vedana no longer exists but the dukkha persists?

Not quite. The aim of the Buddhist path, culminating in enlightenment (or “nibbana” in Pali, “nirvana” in Sanskrit), is the complete cessation of dukkha in all its forms. However, it’s essential to distinguish between the experience of vedana and the mental reactions or attachments that can lead to dukkha.

When one attains enlightenment:

1. Dukkha Ceases: All forms of suffering, unsatisfactoriness, and stress — the dukkha resulting from craving, aversion, and ignorance — come to an end. An enlightened being has uprooted the causes of dukkha and is free from the cycles of birth, aging, sickness, and death (samsara).
2. Vedana Persists: Enlightened beings still experience vedana (pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral sensations) because they still possess a physical body with sense faculties. However, they don’t react with attachment, aversion, or delusion to these sensations. For instance, if an enlightened person were to get injured, they would experience the physical pain (unpleasant vedana) but would not suffer mentally from it — there would be no aversion, lamentation, or mental distress tied to the pain.

The key is the transformed relationship to vedana. For most unenlightened individuals, unpleasant vedana can lead to aversion or distress, pleasant vedana to craving or clinging, and neutral vedana to ignorance or delusion. In contrast, an enlightened being experiences vedana without producing reactive emotional patterns or generating new karmic consequences.

So, to clarify, enlightenment means that the mental and emotional suffering (dukkha) ceases, but the basic sensations or feelings (vedana) associated with having a physical body continue until the enlightened being’s final passing away (parinibbana).

I still have a problem with the concept of vedana leading to ignorance or delusion. For example the feeling of clothes against my skin is a neutral feeling. How does that lead to ignorance or delusion?

Your question touches on a nuanced aspect of the Buddha’s teachings. Let’s delve into it.

In Buddhist psychology, when vedana (feeling or sensation) arises, it’s typically followed by a mental evaluation or response. This response is conditioned by one’s past experiences, habits, views, and level of mindfulness.

For a majority of people, a neutral vedana, like the feeling of clothes against the skin, is often overlooked or not consciously noted. Here’s how it can be linked to ignorance or delusion:

1. Lack of Mindfulness: Neutral feelings are typically subtle and can easily go unnoticed. When we’re not mindful of these feelings, we can be said to be in a state of ignorance regarding them.
2. Default Mental States: Neutral feelings can serve as a backdrop for the mind’s default states, which might be colored by ignorance, delusion, or other habitual patterns. For instance, if one isn’t attuned to the neutral feeling of clothes on the skin, the mind might be wandering in daydreams, getting lost in thoughts, or perpetuating delusive patterns.
3. Misunderstanding Reality: From a deeper perspective, not being aware of or understanding the transient, impersonal nature of even neutral feelings can contribute to the deluded view of a constant self or unchanging reality. By not observing the neutral sensations, one might miss seeing their impermanent nature and continue to believe in a permanent self or entity, which is a fundamental delusion in Buddhist thought.
4. Opportunity for Insight: Every sensation, whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral, offers an opportunity for insight into the nature of reality — specifically, the three marks of existence: impermanence (anicca), unsatisfactoriness (dukkha), and not-self (anatta). Overlooking neutral sensations means missing out on these opportunities for insight, perpetuating ignorance.

To clarify, the mere presence of neutral vedana doesn’t “cause” delusion. Instead, it’s the habitual, unmindful reaction to such sensations, and the overlooking of their true nature, that can perpetuate states of ignorance or delusion. The practice of mindfulness (sati) aims to bring awareness to all sensations, allowing for understanding and insight to arise.

Could that be summarised as the lack of awareness of neutral feelings is ignorance?

Yes, precisely. The lack of awareness of neutral feelings can be considered a form of ignorance. By not being mindful of them, one misses the opportunity for deeper understanding and insight into the nature of reality.