<p>In my own words:</p>

<p><em>Samsara</em> is the same world you see on TV and read about in newspapers. This world is a hallucination (a subjective reality) fabricated in dependence on the fundamental confusion caused by the fundamental ignorance. This confusion causes <em>dukkha</em> and <em>dukkha</em> causes further confusion, which is why Samsara is dubbed "cyclic existence" - but also because the confusion is passed on from previous lives to future lives.</p>

<p><em>Dukkha</em> is the painful and bitter feeling of wrongness you experience while in Samsara, because of the mismatch between the hallucination and reality.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-30T18:28:20.477Z
Sorry to complain but are you saying that, "Buddhism says that the world is an illusion or a hallucination"? If so I've 'always' thought that's a too-simplistic (not helpful or prescriptive) description. Also if I don't watch TV it isn't clear what else (apart from the world on TV) samsara is or isn't.
ChrisW
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-30T19:47:00.137Z
not literally, no. Though "hallucination" is the exact word my Zen Master used -- and I used to hate it myself... but the more I share what I was taught the more I appreciate the brightly metaphorical pointers over the tedious conceptual expositions. I did mention "subjective reality" parenthetically to add a little more depth to the metaphor, it is pretty subtle one.
Andriy Volkov
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-30T20:12:55.307Z
To try to help clarify, perhaps, my Eastern Philosophies professor told us that the Hindu concept of Samara is based on _delusion_, where the individual misperceives the external reality. The example Hindu theologians use is a coiled rope that appears to be a snake in the dark --it's a misperception. Whereas the Buddhist idea of Samsara is based on _illusion_, where an individual projects qualities originating in their own mind (ideas of good and bad, permanence, etc) onto the external world.
user151841
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-30T20:17:28.480Z
@user151841 - yes, this is pretty close
Andriy Volkov
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-30T15:44:47.523Z
2015-09-30T16:29:41.510Z
2015-09-30T16:29:41.510Z
Andriy Volkov
<p>Others have nicely explained the different meanings of the two terms. As for their relationship, I'd actually say that <em>samsara</em> and <em>dukkha</em> are the same thing from different perspectives -- samsara from a cosmological standpoint, dukkha from an individual (psychological) standpoint.</p>

<p>To be in samsara is to experience pervasive, self-reinforcing (cyclic) dukkha due to ignorance. To be in ignorance is to suffer and hence to be in samsara. So samsara => dukkha and dukkha => samsara, hence samsara &lt;=> dukkha.</p>

<p>This is an elementary example of how cosmology and psychology (phenomenology, experience) mirror each other. Rupert Gethin treats this at some length in a great series of papers, though with more intricate concepts. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa%E1%B9%83s%C4%81ra_%28Buddhism%29#Equivalence_of_cosmology_and_psychology" rel="nofollow">Here</a> it is summarized in the Wikipedia article on samsara. You can look up his papers on the subject, and he also treats it in chapter 5 of his text, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=al_Wlh2mwWIC" rel="nofollow"><em>The Foundations of Buddhism</em></a>.</p>

<p>You could also add <em>avidya</em> (ignorance) as a third element of the equivalence, perhaps from the philosophical or conceptual perspective.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-02T02:39:06.713Z
2015-10-02T02:39:06.713Z
David Lewis
<p>Saṃsāra is endless cyclic existence (<em>Anamataggo bhikkawe samsaro pubbha kota na pannayati</em>) caused by Avijja and Tanha (<em>Avijja neevarananang thanha sanyojanag</em>). Note that Avijja means ignorance about four noble truths including Dukkha.
<br>
<a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn45/sn45.001.than.html" rel="nofollow">Avijja Sutta -SN 45</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-30T14:37:45.370Z
2015-09-30T14:37:45.370Z
Sajeewa Welendagoda
<p>Samsara is a continuum of our  individual mind moments. </p>

<p>Dukkha is the deep down feeling that something is missing or wrong that occurs throughout Samsara.</p>

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2015-09-30T14:43:09.993Z
2015-09-30T14:43:09.993Z
Lowbrow
<p>What is the difference between the terms "samsara" and "dukkha"?</p>

<p>What is the relationship between the two?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-30T16:40:05.377Z
Dukkha means that your life sucks. Samsara means, so will your next one, (and your next one, and your ... repeat until enlightened)  :-)
tkp
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-01T15:28:37.520Z
Saṃsāra is the house that Avijja (ignorance) built. It rests on three pillars anicca, anatta and dukkha, also known as the three marks of existence.
Buddho
<samsara><dukkha>
Difference between Samsara and Dukkha
# Difference between Samsara and Dukkha

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-09-30)

What is the difference between the terms "samsara" and "dukkha"?

What is the relationship between the two?

**Tags:** samsara, dukkha

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Dukkha means that your life sucks. Samsara means, so will your next one, (and your next one, and your ... repeat until enlightened)  :-)  
> **username_2**: Saṃsāra is the house that Avijja (ignorance) built. It rests on three pillars anicca, anatta and dukkha, also known as the three marks of existence.  

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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_8 on 2015-09-30. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

Samsara is a continuum of our individual mind moments.

Dukkha is the deep down feeling that something is missing or wrong that occurs throughout Samsara.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2015-09-30. Score: 3

In my own words:

*Samsara* is the same world you see on TV and read about in newspapers. This world is a hallucination (a subjective reality) fabricated in dependence on the fundamental confusion caused by the fundamental ignorance. This confusion causes *dukkha* and *dukkha* causes further confusion, which is why Samsara is dubbed "cyclic existence" - but also because the confusion is passed on from previous lives to future lives.

*Dukkha* is the painful and bitter feeling of wrongness you experience while in Samsara, because of the mismatch between the hallucination and reality.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Sorry to complain but are you saying that, "Buddhism says that the world is an illusion or a hallucination"? If so I've 'always' thought that's a too-simplistic (not helpful or prescriptive) description. Also if I don't watch TV it isn't clear what else (apart from the world on TV) samsara is or isn't.  
> **username_3**: not literally, no. Though "hallucination" is the exact word my Zen Master used -- and I used to hate it myself... but the more I share what I was taught the more I appreciate the brightly metaphorical pointers over the tedious conceptual expositions. I did mention "subjective reality" parenthetically to add a little more depth to the metaphor, it is pretty subtle one.  
> **username_5**: To try to help clarify, perhaps, my Eastern Philosophies professor told us that the Hindu concept of Samara is based on _delusion_, where the individual misperceives the external reality. The example Hindu theologians use is a coiled rope that appears to be a snake in the dark --it's a misperception. Whereas the Buddhist idea of Samsara is based on _illusion_, where an individual projects qualities originating in their own mind (ideas of good and bad, permanence, etc) onto the external world.  
> **username_3**: @username_5 - yes, this is pretty close  

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### Answer by username_6 on 2015-10-02. Score: 0

Others have nicely explained the different meanings of the two terms. As for their relationship, I'd actually say that *samsara* and *dukkha* are the same thing from different perspectives -- samsara from a cosmological standpoint, dukkha from an individual (psychological) standpoint.

To be in samsara is to experience pervasive, self-reinforcing (cyclic) dukkha due to ignorance. To be in ignorance is to suffer and hence to be in samsara. So samsara => dukkha and dukkha => samsara, hence samsara <=> dukkha.

This is an elementary example of how cosmology and psychology (phenomenology, experience) mirror each other. Rupert Gethin treats this at some length in a great series of papers, though with more intricate concepts. [Here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa%E1%B9%83s%C4%81ra_%28Buddhism%29#Equivalence_of_cosmology_and_psychology) it is summarized in the Wikipedia article on samsara. You can look up his papers on the subject, and he also treats it in chapter 5 of his text, [*The Foundations of Buddhism*](https://books.google.com/books?id=al_Wlh2mwWIC).

You could also add *avidya* (ignorance) as a third element of the equivalence, perhaps from the philosophical or conceptual perspective.


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### Answer by username_7 on 2015-09-30. Score: 0

Saṃsāra is endless cyclic existence (*Anamataggo bhikkawe samsaro pubbha kota na pannayati*) caused by Avijja and Tanha (*Avijja neevarananang thanha sanyojanag*). Note that Avijja means ignorance about four noble truths including Dukkha.
  
[Avijja Sutta -SN 45](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn45/sn45.001.than.html)


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