Jaina Concept of Suffering

Summary

This article investigates the Jain understanding of suffering (*duḥkha*). Suffering arises, according to Jain metaphysics, from ignorance and karmic bondage that bind the soul to the cycle of births and deaths. The author classifies suffering into bodily, mental and external forms and notes that what people call pleasure and pain are both manifestations of karmically produced feelings; there is no neutral state. Jain psychology posits that two types of feeling‑producing karma generate either pleasurable or painful sensations, and the interplay of these influences the character of human experience. The article emphasises the four primary passions (anger, pride, deceit and greed) and nine quasi‑passions (laughter, liking, disliking, fear, sorrow, disgust, sexual or family attachment and sleep) that disturb the soul. These passions determine a person’s state: strong passions draw the soul down into lower realms, while attenuated passions allow ascent to heavenly states. Since every worldly state contains some degree of suffering, the author argues that worldly pleasure is only a disguised form of pain. The remedy lies in ethical discipline and spiritual purification. By cultivating equanimity, practising austerities and meditating on the nature of karma, one gradually lessens the force of passions. Ultimately, liberation (*mokṣa*) is achieved through the trinity of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. Only when the bondage of karma is severed does the soul experience true and permanent bliss. The article thus integrates psychological analysis with ethical counsel, illustrating how Jainism transforms the problem of suffering into a path of spiritual progress.