Dear Yong Peng and Pali-listers:

[Re: dukkha]: ... 'unsatisfactoriness', 'unsatisfaction' or
'non-satisfaction' is
not a proper English word. There are still many words close to that,
such as distress, unhappiness, sadness and agony. However, they do
not convey the clear message of 'unsatisfactoriness'. What do you think?

R: ‘Dissatisfaction’ is another possibility. It conveys subjective
nuances, whereas ‘unsatisfactoriness’ conveys objective ones.
‘Discomfort’ and ‘unease’ are other mild possibilities in English.

Perhaps like other listers, I am trying my hand at translating some
suttas. I am working on the Saama~n~naphala sutta (DN2). In general, I
have given up trying to do a literal, word-for-word translation into
English, and have decided that what would be more useful is to always
try to give the sense. I don’t call what I’m doing a ‘translation,’ but
a ‘paraphrase.’

With a word like dukkha (which has two pages in the PTSD), I think it is

incorrect to always give the same English word for its many uses.
Sometimes dukkha is a sensation, sometimes the result of avijja,
sometimes one of the three qualifications of existence (the sankhaaraa),

etc. Of course, this complicates the matter of translation. Perhaps
several words in English (or other modern language) can be used when
just the perfect equivalence can’t be found. It depends on the context.
Of course, the same phrase cannot be used for dukkha all the time. But I

suppose that’s what inevitably happens when going from one language to
another. -- Rene