suffering ［苦］ ( duhukha; Pali dukkha;  ku): Buddhism describes various categories of suffering, such as the four sufferings and the eight sufferings. The Sanskrit term duhukha (duhkha according to standard alphabetization) is rendered as suffering. It also means uneasiness, pain, sorrow, trouble, or difficulty. Shakyamuni’s renunciation of the world and quest for enlightenment was motivated by a desire to find a solution to the four sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death. The first of the four noble truths, which Shakyamuni is said to have taught in his first sermon after attaining enlightenment, is the truth of suffering, i.e., the truth that all existence is suffering. Thus, the seeking and attaining of the way of release from suffering became the object of Buddhist practice. The doctrine that all existence is suffering constitutes one of the four Dharma seals, the four basic identifying principles of Buddhism; the other three are that all existence is impermanent, that nothing has an independent existence of its own, and that nirvana, enlightenment, is tranquil and quiet. See also four sufferings; eight sufferings.