The Buddha famously said, “I have dukkha and the end of dukkha.” Yet it can be confusing to know what the Buddha might have meant. One reason for the confusion is that there are multiple accounts of dukkha in the discourses; we explore four of them, finding that, for the first three, it doesn't make sense to speak of the "the end of dukkha." Only for the fourth sense of dukkha, which we find both in the teaching of the Two Arrows (or Darts) and in the teaching of Dependent Origination does "the end of dukkha" make sense. On this basis, we then explore the nature of dukkha, interpreted especially as reactivity, which we find in two forms--grasping and pushing away. We lastly explore eight core ways of practicing with dukkha.

In the contracted norm, mind becomes bonded to conditioned reality, unable to let go. Citta can be trained to relate to phenomena dispassionately. Use vitaka-vicara in meditation to step back, listen in and find your balance point. Mind can have a still quiet center and engage with conditioned reality appropriately, without grasping.

As a result of the pandemic, we are experiencing the frailty of our systems and structures. Awareness is the only constant resource we have. It can be trained and purified to bring loving careful attention to all that we meet.