Every living being is a victim of suffering
The Lord Buddha explained the nature of suffering in detail. The Pali word for 'suffering' is 'dukkha'. A definition of suffering separates the Pali 'dukkha' into its root syllables 'du-' and '-kha'. 'Du-' refers to anything that is bad, to be avoided or brings danger. 'Kha' refers to something that is devoid of goodness and happiness - it is the sort of thing that only fools associate with goodness and happiness, but that the noble ones shun.

If it wasn't for suffering, all beings would live a life without hardship or misery. In reality, however, there is no being which can escape suffering for as long as they remain caught up in the cycle of existence - being born and reborn - starting a new lifetime doesn't allow one to escape from suffering.

The Lord Buddha analysed suffering into the following categories:

1. Birth [jaati dukkha]
2. Aging [jaraa dukkha]
3. Illness [byaadi dukkha]
4. Death [mara.na dukkha]
5. Sorrow [soka dukkha]
6. Lamentation [parideva dukkha]
7. Pain [dukkha dukkha]
8. Feeling slighted [domanassa dukkha]
9. Bemoaning [upaayaassa dukkha]
10. Exposure to hateful things [apiyehi sampayoga dukkha]
11. Separation from loved ones and treasured things [piyehi vipayoga dukkha]
12. Disappointment [yam piccham na labhati dukkha]
13. Clinging to the Five Aggregates [pa~ncupaadaanakkhandha dukkha]

1. Suffering as a result of Birth [jaati dukkha]
The Lord Buddha taught that suffering as a result of birth is 'built in' suffering for every living being conceived in the realms of the Cycle of Existence. The arising of beings in the Cycle of Existence is by four possible modes of birth:

1. Hatching from an egg [a.n.daja] e.g birds, lizards and snakes;
2. Birth from the womb [jalaabuja] e.g. mammals;
3. Arising in dampness or moisture [sa.msedaja] e.g. prokaryotic organisms e.g. mosquitos and some sorts of worms;
4. Spontaneous arising in adult form [opapaatika] who are as developed as a sixteen-year old complete with adornment from the moment of birth e.g. angels, gods and denizens of hell.

The suffering of birth starts to affect beings without exception from the moment they are conceived. Some beings are fully equipped with sense spheres [aayatana]1 from the moment they are born - others are handicapped, only further adding to their suffering. There will be suffering as a result of birth, whatever the mode of birth. However, for birth from the womb, the suffering is correspondingly more than for those arising spontaneously in adult form, or those arising in dampness or moisture.

For the mammals, for the first seven days after conception, the embryonic precursor [kalla] has the appearance of a tiny drop of sesame seed oil of the size that adheres to the tip of a yak hair which is clear like butter fat.

Seven days later the embryonic precursor will become more concentrated taking on the colour of water in which one has washed one's hands.

Seven days later still, the droplet becomes yet more concentrated until it has become a small piece of flesh with the same consistency of a chicken egg and it will continue in this state for a further seven days. So far twenty-eight days have elapsed. At this time, there is a swelling in five places corresponding to the limbs and the head - a state which lasts for another seven days. After this time there is a differentiation of hair [kesaa], bodily hair [lomaa], finger and toenails [nakhaa], teeth [dantaa] and skin [taco] respectively.

From this time onwards, the suffering of being in the mother's womb starts to be apparent to the foetus, suffering that is so intense that it is difficult to find a comparison in words.

1.1 The Suffering of Internment in the Womb

The foetus is seated upon the faeces of the mother passing through her intestines and has the food being digested in her stomach as a pillow. The foetus is forced into a squatting posture, hunched and hugging its own knees, with its back to the surface of the mother's stomach. Its face is against the mother's backbone - more like a monkey squeezing itself inside a hollow log to escape the rain, than a human being. The baby is bound up by its placenta and so is unable to extend its arms or legs, in the stinking darkness of the womb - almost like being subjected to a new sort of hell for nine-months. The stench inside the womb, which the foetus must tolerate night and day is like the smell of a rotting corpse [asubha] - and all with the relentless burning heat within the mother's body, more like a piece of meat being poached in a casserole than a baby. This is the first sort of suffering every living being encounters and technically speaking, this first suffering in the womb is called 'gabbho kantika muulaka dukkha'.

1.2 The Suffering of Physical Shocks to the Womb

Moreover, if the mother should happen to fall accidentally, or even the normal motion of the mother's walking up and down, or turning over in bed, getting up and sitting down inflicts further fear, shock and pain on the foetus in the womb - like the fawn of a hog deer terrified at the hands of a drunkard, or a baby snake at the hands of a snake-charmer - their whole body will be cast back and forth, shaken and tumbling, never managing to regain an upright position. When the mother eats or drinks something cold, the foetus will be frozen within the womb. Each time the mother eats or drinks something hot, then the burning only adds to the suffering of the foetus, like being exposed to a rain of hot ashes. Each time the mother eats something spicy, the whole of the foetus's body will itch and become swollen with the strength of the spices - like a prisoner being tortured by having salt rubbed into open wounds all over his body. This second aspect of suffering at birth is known as 'gabbha parihaara muulaka dukkha'.

1.3 The Suffering of Unnatural Delivery at Birth

If the baby happens not to rotate itself properly when nearing the time of birth, and lies blocking the delivery path, the baby will have to be delivered by being forcibly dragged out of the womb by its arms and legs. This third aspect of suffering at birth is known as 'gabbha vipatti muulaka dukkha'.

1.4 The Suffering of being delivered at Birth

When it comes to the time when the baby must be delivered, there will be a build up of 'natal wind' [lama-kammajavaata] which turns the baby upside down with its head down towards the birth canal and its feet up - as frightening for the baby as a person dangling upside down over a cliff face. Next the baby will have to endure the torture of childbirth - like a working elephant trying to make its escape by squeezing through a narrow space, or like denizens of the 'Sanghaa.ta' hell1 who are condemned to being crushed beneath fiery mountains. This fourth aspect of suffering at birth is known as 'gabbha jaayika muulaka dukkha'.