[68] **Suffering is its great peril** — "suffering (dukkha)" means: the suffering of birth, the suffering of aging, the suffering of illness, the suffering of death; the suffering of sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair; the suffering of hell; the suffering of the animal realm; the suffering of the realm of hungry ghosts; human suffering; suffering rooted in the descent into the womb; suffering rooted in remaining in the womb; suffering rooted in emerging from the womb; the suffering that follows upon one who is born; the suffering of one born who is subject to others; suffering caused by one's own exertion; suffering caused by the exertion of others; suffering as suffering; the suffering of saṃsāra; suffering due to change; disease of the eye, disease of the ear, disease of the nose, disease of the tongue, disease of the body, disease of the head, disease of the outer ear, disease of the mouth, disease of the teeth; cough, asthma, catarrh, burning fever, fever, stomach ailment, fainting, dysentery, colic, cholera; leprosy, boils, eczema, consumption, epilepsy; ringworm, itch, scab, pox, scabies; hemorrhage, bile disorder, diabetes; hemorrhoids, pustules, fistula; illnesses originating from bile, illnesses originating from phlegm, illnesses originating from wind, illnesses arising from a combination of humors, illnesses born of change of climate, illnesses born of careless conduct, illnesses produced by assault, illnesses born of the ripening of kamma; cold, heat, hunger, thirst, defecation, urination; the suffering of contact with gadflies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, and creeping creatures; the death of a mother is suffering, the death of a father is suffering, the death of a brother is suffering, the death of a sister is suffering, the death of a son is suffering, the death of a daughter is suffering; loss of relatives is suffering, loss of wealth is suffering, loss through illness is suffering, loss of virtue is suffering, loss of view is suffering. Of whatever dhammas an origination is evident at the beginning, and a cessation is evident at their passing away — the result dependent on kamma, the kamma dependent on the result; form dependent on name, name dependent on form — followed by birth, pursued by aging, overcome by illness, struck down by death; established in suffering, without protection, without shelter, without refuge, become refugeless: this is called suffering. This suffering is for the world a great peril, an oppression, an affliction, a calamity, an adversity — thus, **suffering is its great peril**. Therefore the Blessed One said:
"The world is shrouded by ignorance (avijjā)," (said the Blessed One to Ajita,)
"because of avarice (because of heedlessness) it does not shine forth.
Hankering is its smearing, I say;
suffering is its great peril."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.