<p>In that context, &quot;this&quot; refers to &quot;direct knowledge and seeing&quot;. It means you see dukkha, the factors it emerges from, the possibility of prevention, and the way to implement it in real life - you see all of this as it actually is, directly in your immediate first-hand experience.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-01T01:06:26.187Z
2021-03-01T17:12:15.320Z
2021-03-01T17:12:15.320Z
Andriy Volkov
<p>We see this phrase in <a href="https://suttacentral.net/sn56.11/en/bodhi" rel="nofollow noreferrer">SN 56.11</a> (Sutta on Rolling Forth the Wheel of Dhamma, translated by Ven. Bodhi).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“‘<strong>This</strong> is the noble truth of suffering’: thus, bhikkhus, in regard to
things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom,
true knowledge, and light.<br />
<em>‘Idaṃ dukkhaṃ ariyasaccan’ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe ananussutesu dhammesu cakkhuṃ udapādi, ñāṇaṃ udapādi, paññā udapādi, vijjā udapādi,
āloko udapādi.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>What is &quot;this&quot;?</p>
<p>It's explained in the same sutta:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Now <strong>this</strong>, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of suffering:<br />
<em>Idaṃ kho pana, bhikkhave, dukkhaṃ ariyasaccaṃ—</em></p>
<p>Birth is
suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is
suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation
from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is
suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are
suffering.<br />
<em>jātipi dukkhā, jarāpi dukkhā, byādhipi dukkho, maraṇampi dukkhaṃ, appiyehi sampayogo dukkho, piyehi vippayogo dukkho, yampicchaṃ na
labhati tampi dukkhaṃ—saṃkhittena pañcupādānakkhandhā dukkhā.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Also, &quot;All conditioned phenomena are suffering&quot; (<em>sabbe sankhara dukkha</em>) from <a href="https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=277" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Dhp 278</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-01T03:08:07.373Z
Something you might want to add to your comment, which I upvoted: one of the seals of the Dharma, namely that "All formations are duḥkha" (sarvasaṁskārā duḥkhāḥ).
Caoimhghin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-01T03:37:14.697Z
@Caoimhghin Added. But it should be "all conditioned phenomena is suffering". In this context, sankhara is not just formations
ruben2020
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-03T18:22:48.147Z
Makes sense, and I've heard this said before and don't dispute it. That Gautama Buddha says "saṁskārā" and not "saṁskṛtāḥ" always struck me as a curiosity of the early Prākrit Buddhavacana, if we'll forgive my using Sanskrit instead of Prākrit.
Caoimhghin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-28T16:19:39.403Z
2021-03-01T03:36:25.233Z
2021-03-01T03:36:25.233Z
ruben2020
<p>This is suffering is one of the noble truths. But it is not clear what does &quot;this&quot; stands for ?
Similarly in the statement &quot;This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering.&quot; , it is not clear what does &quot;this&quot; stands for?</p>

<four-noble-truths>
What does "this" stands for in the observation "This is suffering."?
# What does "this" stands for in the observation "This is suffering."?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-02-28)

This is suffering is one of the noble truths. But it is not clear what does "this" stands for ?
Similarly in the statement "This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering." , it is not clear what does "this" stands for?

**Tags:** four-noble-truths


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-02-28. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

We see this phrase in [SN 56.11](https://suttacentral.net/sn56.11/en/bodhi) (Sutta on Rolling Forth the Wheel of Dhamma, translated by Ven. Bodhi).

> “‘**This** is the noble truth of suffering’: thus, bhikkhus, in regard to
> things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom,
> true knowledge, and light.  
> *‘Idaṃ dukkhaṃ ariyasaccan’ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe ananussutesu dhammesu cakkhuṃ udapādi, ñāṇaṃ udapādi, paññā udapādi, vijjā udapādi,
> āloko udapādi.*

What is "this"?

It's explained in the same sutta:

> “Now **this**, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of suffering:  
> *Idaṃ kho pana, bhikkhave, dukkhaṃ ariyasaccaṃ—*
>
> Birth is
> suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is
> suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation
> from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is
> suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are
> suffering.  
> *jātipi dukkhā, jarāpi dukkhā, byādhipi dukkho, maraṇampi dukkhaṃ, appiyehi sampayogo dukkho, piyehi vippayogo dukkho, yampicchaṃ na
> labhati tampi dukkhaṃ—saṃkhittena pañcupādānakkhandhā dukkhā.*

Also, "All conditioned phenomena are suffering" (*sabbe sankhara dukkha*) from [Dhp 278](https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=277).

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Something you might want to add to your comment, which I upvoted: one of the seals of the Dharma, namely that "All formations are duḥkha" (sarvasaṁskārā duḥkhāḥ).  
> **username_2**: @username_3 Added. But it should be "all conditioned phenomena is suffering". In this context, sankhara is not just formations  
> **username_3**: Makes sense, and I've heard this said before and don't dispute it. That Gautama Buddha says "saṁskārā" and not "saṁskṛtāḥ" always struck me as a curiosity of the early Prākrit Buddhavacana, if we'll forgive my using Sanskrit instead of Prākrit.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-03-01. Score: 1

In that context, "this" refers to "direct knowledge and seeing". It means you see dukkha, the factors it emerges from, the possibility of prevention, and the way to implement it in real life - you see all of this as it actually is, directly in your immediate first-hand experience.


---

